Borscht (Russian Beet Soup)

 It's been a while since I've posted a cabbage recipe. But I'm still drowning in cabbages. No complaints here, though. It's nice to have a success crop my first year of gardening. What I don't have is beets. But my mom grew some, so she brought me some and asked if I could make borscht. I don't think I'd ever heard of this dish before my mom said I should make it.

It took me a couple days to get to it, since I didn't have any beef broth. I ended up making it with bone broth from the ham I made last week. The recipe is pretty simple.

In a large pot, cook 4 c. beef broth

 

 Get enough beets to make 2 cups. I used 3, but only took pics of 2.

Remove stems and skins. 

Chop or shred beets.

Add 1 onion, chopped, and 1-2 c. shredded cabbage. I used purple cabbage.

Simmer in a covered pot until veggies are tender.

Add 1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar

Add water if necessary

Season if necessary

Serve hot or chilled, with

1/2 c. sour cream

This recipe was pretty good. The beets were very sweet and the soup had great flavor. I really enjoyed it. If you like beets and cabbage, you would like this recipe.

Pea Soup

Pea soup is a staple in our house. My sister likes it so much she told me I wasn't allowed to make it at anyone else's house because she'd miss it. So I brought over the bone from the ham because pea soup is one of the only ways I know how to use a ham bone (even though I've never actually had a ham bone, I just know they are supposed to be in pea soup).

I've made pea soup enough times that it's on my list of 10 things I can make consistently well. But Fannie Farmer's recipe is quite different from the one I usually make, which I don't think is from a recipe, it's just a bunch of stuff that seems to go well in pea soup.

Here is Fannie's take on this classic.
You will need:
4 c. water
1 c. dried split peas
1 ham bone
1 chopped onion
salt and pepper


Optional add-ins: celery, parsley, thyme or rosemary, bay leaf

I usually make mine with carrots, celery, and potatoes. But this time, I wanted to use the Fannie Farmer recipe instead of my own, so I only used carrots, because that's what my mom had.

For herbs, I usually use rosemary, because I love the flavor it adds. But my mom didn't have any fresh rosemary, so I used thyme this time.

Fannie says to heat the water to a boil, add the peas, then remove from heat and sit for an hour. That's how I make beans when I need a quick soak, but peas usually take a fraction of the time that beans do, so I've never done this. But this time, I did as Fannie said.

My mom didn't want me cooking hot food for hours in the house, so I used a crock pot from this point on. When the soak was done, I turned on the crock pot and added the remaining ingredients.

Fannie says that once the peas are soft, remove ham bone, rub through a sieve or mash with blending fork, dilute with milk, and season with salt and pepper.

I found this soup way too thin. I usually use 2 c. peas, which I should have done here. It was really...soupy. I know, it's soup. But I like it so thick you could almost eat it with a fork. But the flavor here was good. However, I have my own non-recipe pea soup down to a T, and I like it much better, so I think I'll stick with that one, the tried-and-true recipe I've been making for years.

Overall, I'd say this is a 3 out of 5.

Stuffed Peppers

This was another one of Fannie Farmer's recipes that was so vague it wasn't even really a recipe. It goes something like: cut peppers in  half, clean out seeds and veins, steam five minutes, and fill. It gives suggestions as to what to fill it with--corn, ham, beef and rice, seasons, etc. But it isn't a very specific recipe where it tells how much of everything. So I'm just going to post my recipe.

Take 2 green bell peppers
Cut in half lengthwise and empty out seeds and stems.
Steam peppers for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute a small onion (I use coconut oil for frying) and
2 ripe tomatoes.
Add 1 c. cooked, chopped ham
1/2-1 c. cooked rice
Ground pepper for seasoning (you won't need salt if using ham, as it's very salty)

Spoon filling into peppers.
Bake at 350 for 10-15 mins.
Top with grated cheese.
I always return it to the oven but turn the oven off at this point and just wait for a few minutes while the cheese melts. But you could turn it on broil for a few minutes if you wanted, to give the cheese a little crispiness on top.

For stuffed zucchini, go here.

Baked Ham

My sister raised pigs a while back, and she'd given us a ham that needed to be used. I probably should have saved this for a party or something, but I was curious to try my hand at a ham, which I'd never cooked. Huge pieces of meat are always daunting, because I never know how to cook them. But my husband likes ham, so I figured he could always eat the leftovers on sandwiches.

Fanny Farmer's baked ham recipe follows.


Put ham in shallow baking dish, fat side up.
Bake at 325 until 150 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer (my meat thermometer said 175, so I cooked it long enough to get it to 175, since I'm paranoid about eating pork anyway).
To glaze, cut skin off and score the fat in a diamond pattern and glaze.
Put whole cloves in each diamond.
Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
Baste several times while cooking.
Remove from oven and let sit at least 15 mins before serving.

This recipe was tough, since I had a big piece of a pig that was cured as ham. I didn't have the cone-shaped thing that I've seen in stores. I've never actually eaten a real ham before. So I wasn't sure how to do it with a rectangular piece of ham. But I followed directions as best as I could. My ham did not have a skin, nor did it have a 'fat side.' So I just put it in a pan.

I did not turn oven to 400, because I somehow missed that in the directions. I left it on 350 for about 2-2.5 hrs, glazing about halfway through.

Glaze recipe:
Mix 1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey, maple syrup, cider, vinegar, or pineapple or orange juice.
Ground or fresh mustard

I used 1/4 c. honey, 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, and 1 tsp. ground mustard. I didn't want all that sugar on it, esp. since I was planning to use the leftovers. I also wanted pineapple with the ham, so I stuck a few pineapple rings on it after glazing it. There is a basting sauce recipe, too, but I just basted with the juices in the pan from the meat and the glaze that had run off into the pan, since it was much the same as the basting sauce recipe and I think the recipe must have been for a much bigger ham than our slab of meat.

Optional basting sauce:
Mix 1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 c. vinegar
OR
1 c. honey
1 c. orange juice

It turned out very good, actually. It took forever to cook, and heated up the house A LOT, so I wouldn't make this again in summer. I just didn't know if it would keep until the holiday season, and we are never at home on Christmas anyway. But it would be much better to heat up the house by baking for 3 hours in the winter!

Look at all that yummy fat.

Anyway, all in all it was good and hammy. I wish I'd had a big heaping pile of vegetables to eat with it instead of just extra pineapple rings, but hey, we can't all be perfect! Maybe next time.

Look for more ham recipes, which I'm sure I'll make when my husband gets tired of eating 2 lbs. of leftover ham!

Rice Pancakes (griddlecakes)

 

When I was a kid, my mom made rice pancakes and I remember loving them. So when I found this recipe, and I had some cooked rice that needed using, the choice was obvious. My son adamantly proclaimed that he hated rice and would not eat them, but I went ahead with them anyway. I'm pretty sure this isn't the recipe my mom made, as she'd never make something so fancy as pancakes that call for meringue folded in.

The batter.

I did this one by the book.

Here's how Fannie does it.

Mix 1 c. milk
1 c. cooked rice
1/2 tsp. salt (of course I left this out)

Stir in 2 egg yolks, beaten until thick
1 tbsp. melted butter
7/8 c. flour

Fold in 2 egg whites, beaten stiff.

Cook in butter until edges are firm, then turn and cook until lightly browned. 

Look, it's almost heart shaped!

Top with butter, syrup, apple sauce, or anything else...

We used apple sauce and syrup because that's what we had. And guess what? My son ate his whole pancake with not a complaint to be heard, and later admitted they were "pretty good."

Baked Peaches

I had grilled peaches once at a cookout, and they were just about the best things ever. So when I saw that Fannie Farmer had a recipe for baked peaches, I couldn't wait to try it.

Her recipe is a bit vague. It just says to peel, cut in half, and pit the peaches, fill with fruit, nuts, butter, sugar, spices, or lemon juice.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with sherry or brandy, or serve with hard sauce, whipped cream, or sour cream.

Here's what I did.

Cut 4 peaches in half and remove pits. I didn't peel them.

  Fill the center of each half with blueberries.

 Place a sliver of butter atop the blueberries.

 Sprinkle with sugar.

...And nutmeg.

Bake as directed above.

 Eat while warm.

These were as beautiful as they were delicious. I would absolutely make these again, many times over, with all kinds of fillings. They were yumtastic.

Parsley Rice, aka Green Rice

 

This was a simple side dish which went well with the creamed chicken recipe I posted yesterday. I paired them because the Boston Cooking School Cookbook said to make this in a ring mold and fill with creamed chicken. I don't have a ring mold, but I paired them together and they went pretty well. The only complaint I had was that this was a bit overpowered by the creamed chicken, and I couldn't enjoy the parsley flavor very much. But, rice is not the main attraction, so it usually doesn't stand out on its own.

parsley.

Onwards to the recipe:
Mix and put in a buttered casserole dish:
1 c. steamed rice
1 c. milk
1/4-1 c. chopped parsley
4 tbsp. melted butter or olive oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 c. grated cheese
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt

Mixed up and ready to cook.

1/4 tsp. paprika
optional: chopped pimiento

Bake at 350 until firm, about 45 minutes. I had to cook mine about an hour, but it worked out so I put it in the oven and then did the creamed chicken, and everything was done at the same time.

This is a goodish recipe, but I don't know if I'd make it as a side dish again, or serve it under something else. It's a bit more complicated than just using plain rice, and since it didn't have a strong flavor that stood out, I don't know if I'd bother again. But, it was a success overall, since it turned out well.

For a simple, parsley-free baked rice, see this recipe.

Creamed Chicken (with Peas)

This recipe was both simple and time consuming. We had some chicken to use up, so I looked through The Fannie Farmer Cookbook until I found a recipe that only used a little chicken. Vegetables were optional, so I used about a half cup of peas we had thawed the day before and hadn't used.

Creamed chicken:
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken (I only had 1 c. shredded, so that's what I used)
1 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. cream (I used whole milk)
salt and pepper


I actually used a double boiler, possibly for the first time ever. We've had one for years, but I usually just use it as a pan or for storing leftovers. So I thought I'd used it as it is supposed to be used.

Melt butter in double boiler.
Mix in flour until completely blended.
Gradually add chicken broth (or 1 c. milk) stirring constantly
Stir over low heat until thick.
Bring to boiling for 2 minutes.
Add cream, chicken, and salt and pepper to taste
Heat at least 1/2 hr in double boiler so chicken absorbs moisture and sauce.
If it gets too thick, add more liquid. I had to add more chicken broth and more milk.
Serve on biscuits, waffles, or rice.
Decorate with bacon, parsley, watercress, pimiento, or paprika.

Optional add-ins: mushrooms, peas, ham, celery, or hard-boiled egg (weird, right?)

I added peas into it. It tasted much like the inside of a chicken pot pie. The sauce was thick but not too thick, and it tasted very good. I served it with Parsley Rice (recipe tomorrow), so I didn't garnish the chicken with parsley. I sprinkled paprika over it, and it was pretty okay. My son, the picky eater, loved it and asked for more (instead of the parsley rice, which I thought he would love) even though it was not the most photogenic, beautiful food I've ever made.

Overall, this is an okay recipe that is a good way to use up leftover chicken, but I don't know that I would go out of my way to make it again. Maybe if I have some chicken on hand again, I'll try one of the other creamed chicken recipes Fannie Farmer offers.

Best Brownies Ever

This is a recipe I have made many, many times. When I stayed home with my son after he was born, I made dessert almost every night, and this was one of the regulars in my rotation. I have made it both with baking chocolate and with cocoa powder. I've also had some other brownie recipes that are very good, and they are all basically the same as this one, with perhaps a tiny tweak or two. The key is not to overcook them, to leave the brownies slightly soft in the center (toothpick will come out clean before they feel completely solid) and to avoid using any leavening except eggs. Otherwise, they are too cakey.

Fannie Farmer's recipe:
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, unbeaten
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. walnut pieces (I didn't have these, so I skipped them)
1 tsp. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Butter a 9x9 baking pan. 
• Mix chocolate and butter in a pan over low heat until melted (I used 1/4 c. cocoa powder and added 2 tbsp. extra butter to moisten it. If you use baking squares, stick with the 1/4 c. butter)
• Remove pan from heat, stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Spread in pan and bake until almost firm to touch (25-35 mins).

I love this recipe, esp. using Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder. It's chewy and delicious, with a slightly crisp skin on top. Never had better!

Baked Rice

I made this for my son when he was recovering and was supposed to be eating a bland diet. Otherwise, I probably would have made the cheesy rice version, which is still on my list of recipes to try. This one was very simple, though, so I made it one day while we were playing chess, and it didn't take long to mix up or to bake.

Cooked brown rice.

I had already cooked the rice, or it would have taken longer. Total cooking time is over an hour, if you're using brown rice, which I always use. It takes about 40 minutes to cook.

Ready to bake.

The Baked Rice recipe:
2 c. cooked rice
1 egg
1 c. milk
butter
salt, pepper, and paprika

optional add-ins: crumbled bacon, parsley, pimiento, mushrooms, or cheese.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Butter a baking dish.
• Add the rice.
• Beat egg & milk and add.
• Dot with butter
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika
• Bake 20 minutes or until browning on top/solid. 

After baking.

 I added some dried parsley, since that was all I had in terms of add-ins. My son didn't want cheese and doesn't like mushrooms, so it was a bit plain. But it was still good. My sister liked it a lot, and I thought it would go good beside chicken. My son didn't like it at all, unfortunately. But it sufficed for plain food when he was recovering.

Butterscotch Pudding

Today I bring to you another pudding recipe, courtesy of my son's soft-foods-only diet. The chocolate was such a success (in my eyes if no one else's) that I would have just made that again, but my son really wanted butterscotch pudding. I'm not sure he's ever actually had butterscotch pudding before, but he heard of it somewhere and insisted that's what he wanted. Since it was for his benefit that I was making the pudding at all, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Brown Sugar

Here's Fannie Farmer's recipe:
Scald in double boiler (or sauce pan) 2 c. milk
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in separate pan.
Add 1 c. brown sugar to butter and stir until the sugar melts.
Add to scalded milk and stir until well blended.
Mix 3 tbsp. cornstarch, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 c. cold milk until cornstarch dissolves
Add cold milk mix to scalded milk mix.
Cook 15 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens, then occasionally
Cool and add 1 tsp. vanilla

Melted sugar.

This recipe was truly one for the Disaster Chef blog. First of all, I didn't have dark brown sugar, so I used regular sugar (only 1/2 c) and about 1/2 tsp. of molasses. The sugar took a long time to melt. When it finally did, I got super excited. It looked really cool. So then, when I went to spoon it into the scalded milk, I was shocked by how it sizzled and instantly turned into rock candy. It looked like a scary forest gremlin (of a dark golden color) clinging to my spoon as I tried to swirl it in milk until it drowned. It took about 10 minutes of stirring to dissolve it into submission.

Stirring, stirring, stirring....

Then another 15 minutes of stirring the pudding makes this perhaps the most tedious recipe I've ever made. Usually when I'm in the kitchen for 30 minutes, I'm frantically chopping six kinds of vegetables and stirring things and tasting things and boiling other things all at once. This definitely got boring. But in the end, it was super delicious. Maybe not 30 minutes of stirring time delicious, but delicious nonetheless. And maybe even a little *too* sweet, despite cutting the sugar in half. I can't imagine using the full cup of sugar. It would be sickeningly sweet for me.

Chinese Cabbage and Tomatoes

This is a simple vegetable recipe that would be good with pretty much anything, especially beef. I've eaten Chinese cabbage a lot, both in stir-fry and by itself. But I've never really done much with it. If you don't like the flavor of cabbage, this has a completely different flavor and texture. It's very tender and delicious.

This recipe is not in my updated Fannie Farmer Cookbook, sadly. But it is in my mom's old version, The Boston Cooking School Cookbook. Fannie doesn't give much detail on the cooking technique, so I'll add my own.

Recipe:
4 c. shredded Chinese cabbage (I sliced it thin, since I'm not even sure how you could shred this stuff)
1/2 c. cooked or canned tomatoes (I didn't have this, so I just chopped a fresh tomato and threw it in the pan with everything else and it cooked very well).
1 small chopped onion

Cook until tender, adding water if necessary to keep cabbage from sticking.

The recipe doesn't give instructions on cooking or seasoning. So, I wasn't sure how to cook it. I threw it in the cast iron frying pan, like always, with a tbsp. or two of olive oil. It cooked really well, so everything was done at once. I seasoned with salt and pepper.

It definitely did not need any water added. It was kind of juicy, maybe because I cooked it with a lid on. It was pretty plain, but for a side dish, it would be fine. It was nice to use all veggies from the garden, but next time, I'll probably just steam the Chinese cabbage. This wasn't all that special.