02.07.07
Posted in Valentine's Day at 9:51 am by scortright
Heart-Shaped Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions:
In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla and mix well. Mix in the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix until smooth. Divide dough into three equal pieces.
Work with one dough piece at a time. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Using cookie cutters cut out two equal sized heart shapes for each cookie. Then using a smaller heart shaped cookie cutter cut out another heart in the center of one of the heart shaped cookies. Spread the solid heart cookie with a little strawberry jam/jelly and place on cookie sheet, top with the second cookie (the one with the heart-shaped center cut out). The center of each cookie will reveal a red jelly heart.
Repeat process until all dough is used. Bake cookies at 350F for approximately 8 minutes or until golden and baked through.
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Posted in Valentine's Day at 9:51 am by scortright
Easy Cheesecake Cups
Ingredients:
16 vanilla wafer cookies
2 8oz packaged of cream cheese, softened
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 21 oz cherry pie filling
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with cupcake papers. In a bowl cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Place one wafer cookie in each cupcake paper then pour the cream cheese mixture over the wafer. Top with a little cherry pie filling and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden and set through.
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Posted in Valentine's Day at 9:50 am by scortright
Cherry Cheese “Cake”
Ingredients:
1 package white cake mix
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tub whipped topping
2 (21oz) cans cherry pie filling
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions. Pour batter into two lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pans. Bake at 350F for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and backed through.
In a bowl mix the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Fold in the whipped topping and spread mixture over each cake. Top the cakes with cherry pie filling and chill for approximately 4 hours (or longer) until set.
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Posted in Valentine's Day at 9:49 am by scortright
Berry Parfait
Ingredients:
½ cup strawberries, sliced
½ cup fresh raspberries
½ cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur
1 (8oz) container of mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
In a bowl mix the strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and liqueur together. Refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.
In another bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat, using an electric mixer, at high speed. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Then layer 6 parfait glasses, alternative the berries and cheese mixture (ending with the cheese mixture). Top with grated or shaved chocolate pieces.
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02.01.07
Posted in Recipes, Soups at 2:16 pm by scortright
Barley Chicken and Leek Soup
Ingredients:
1 whole small chicken or several chicken thighs and legs
2 lb leeks
1 fresh bay leaf
1 large carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
10 cups of chicken broth
½ cup pearl barley
Salt and black pepper
Fresh chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions:
Place chicken in a large deep pan, slice half of the leeks and place them in pan. Add the bay leaf, a little chopped parsley, carrot and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer gently for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Skim off any excess fat at the top of the pan occasionally during simmering.
Leave until slightly cooled and strain soup into another large pan. Discard all the chicken skin, bones, and vegetables. Shred all the chicken meat and add to clear stock. Set aside.
Rinse the pearl barley and cook in a separate pan of boiling water for approximately 10 minutes. Drain and rinse again. Add the pearl barley to stock and chicken and cook over low heat for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until barley is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in warm bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
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Posted in Misc, Recipes, Soups at 2:12 pm by scortright
Spring Onion Miso Broth and Tofu
Note: You should be able to find most of these ingredients in a health food shop or specialty section in your supermarket. You can substitute the bok choy with any Asian greens. Dashi is available in powdered form in many health food stores or Asian stores. If you don’t have Dashi you can use vegetable stock in its place.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of spring onions (scallions)
A large handful of chopped fresh cilantro
3 thin slices of fresh root ginger (or ½ teaspoon dried ginger)
1 small red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced (optional)
5 cups of dashi or vegetable stock.
1 cup of bok choy (also known as pak choi), thinly sliced
1 cup firm tofu cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons red miso
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce (also known as shoyu)
Instructions:
Cut the green tops off the spring onions and thinly slice the rest. Place the coarse green tops in a large pan along with the cilantro stalks, ginger, dried chilli and dashi or vegetable stock. Heat the mixture gently until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve and return clear broth to pan. Reheat until simmering.
Add the green portions of the sliced spring onions, with the chopped pak choi and tofu. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl mix 3 tablespoons of miso with a little hot broth in a bowl and stir into the soup. Add additional miso and soy sauce to taste.
Stir the coarsely chopped cilantro leaves into pan and along with the white part of the spring onions. Cook gently for 1 minute and serve into warm bowls. Sprinkle with thinly sliced chilli if using.
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Posted in Recipes, Soups at 2:11 pm by scortright
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
1 large parsnip, peeled and cubed
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
4 thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoons dried thyme
3 rosemary sprigs or 2/3 teaspoons dried rosemary
5 cups vegetable stock
Salt and ground black pepper
Crème fraiche or sour cream to serve
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Pour the olive oil into a large bowl and add the vegetables, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss well until coated in oil. Place the vegetables on a non stick tray in a single layer. Roast the vegetables in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until tender. Turn them occasionally to ensure they brown evenly.
Remove from oven, discard herbs and transfer vegetables to a large pan. Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Remove soup from heat and leave to slightly cool. Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Return soup to pan and gently heat through. Serve into warm bowls and garnish with a swirl of sour cream or crème fraiche.
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Posted in Recipes, Soups at 2:11 pm by scortright
Roasted Pepper Soup
You can make this soup without roasting the peppers to save time but the roasting process gives the soup a rich, excellent flavor, worth the time.
Ingredients:
3 red bell peppers, washed and deseeded
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon plain all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
Diced red and yellow bell pepper pieces to garnish
Plain yogurt or crème fraiche to garnish
Preheat the grill. Wash and cut the peppers in half and remove stalks, core and seeds. Arrange the peppers in a non stick baking tray (skin side up) and place under the hot grill. Grill for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until skins begin to char.
Transfer the peppers to a plastic or zip lock bag, seal and leave to cool. Once cool (about 15 minutes) peel skins and discard. Roughly chop the remaining pepper flesh and set aside.
Place the onion, crushed garlic and 2/3 of the vegetable stock in a pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until stock begins to reduce. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir to reduce lumping. Add the chopped peppers and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Let soup cool slightly and the transfer to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer soup back to pan and reheat gently, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle a few chopped peppers and a little yogurt in the center of each bowl if desired.
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Posted in Recipes, Soups at 2:10 pm by scortright
Garlic Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 onions, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano
7 cups vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
Instructions:
Place all ingredients except the salt and pepper into a large soup pan. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent lentils from sticking to pan. If soup thickens and lentils are still not tender, add a little extra vegetable stock.
Remove the bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup into warm bowls and serve with a whole wheat or seed roll.
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Posted in Recipes, Soups at 2:10 pm by scortright
Fresh Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
3 lbs of sun ripened tomatoes
1 2/3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons of tomato puree or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Fresh chopped basil leaves (about a handful)
Salt and black pepper to taste
A little crème fraiche and croutons to serve (optional)
Wash the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over them and leave for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds drain the boiling water and add a little cold water to cool. This process makes it easy to peel the skin.
Peel the skin off all tomatoes and cut each tomato into quarters. Place the tomatoes in a large pan and pour the chicken or vegetable stock over tomatoes. Bring to a boil and quickly reduce heat to low. Simmer gently for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and chopped basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently while stirring for a further 2 minutes.
Let soup cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor or blender and process or blend until smooth. Transfer the soup back to the pan and reheat gently taking care not to boil.
Serve in warm bowls and top with a little crème fraiche and croutons if desired.
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