Lasagna Soup and other musings

It is getting close to one of my least favorite days of the whole year.  New Years eve.  I bet you thought it was Ground Hog Day didn't you?  Nope, New Years.  I guess I should like the fact that New Years Day is a like a giant "do over", but I find it unnerving.  

I remember as a kid that my aunt and uncle would have a big New Years Eve party every year. I looked forward to it.  We got to stay up until mid-night. When you are 8 years old, that is huge.  But through the years I found that it felt ominous.  I would sit there and look at all of the faces of my family and wonder what was in store for them for the new year.  Now I have always been pretty much "the glass is half full" kinda gal, but there is something about the New Year that turns me into a bit of a negative person.  It is weird.  I remember sitting in my aunt's home looking at the faces of all the people who were dear to me and wondering if they would all be there next year at this same time. The thought that they may not be was overwhelming.  

I have realized as life goes on every day is essentially New Years.  We can assign that distinction to almost any day that we choose but New Years is the official sign of a new beginning.  I need to learn to change my thinking about this day. 

I have an idea this year for a New Years resolution and I will share that with you on New Years day.  For now I am will share a recipe that I found this morning and have tweaked just a bit.  It is wonderful and I hope you enjoy it. I think it has that comfort food distinction.  Hence the reason I am posting it for you on a day where my soul goes back to all of those New Years Eve's before and remembers being uncertain about what a new year would look like.....that feeling still lingers.

Lasagna Soup

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Maple Dressing

Balsamic/Maple Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Maple Syrup
1 large garlic clove mashed
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl add vinegar, honey, garlic, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper and whisk together.

2. Whisking constantly, add oil in a slow steady stream until combined. This can also be done in a blender.

Spinach Walnut Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh spinach
1 pint strawberries
Purple onion
½ cup walnut halves
½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

1. Wash and pat or spin dry spinach and toss with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat leaves. Divide spinach evenly onto 4-6 salad plates.

2. Top spinach with sliced strawberries, rings of purple onion, blue cheese and walnuts.

Fresh Spinach Dip

I love spinach dip but not a fan of the spinach that is frozen and consequentially becomes like seaweed. Yuck.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded fantastic. I have not tried it yet, but since we are getting ready for New Year's Eve parties I thought I would pass it along.  

Fresh Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) container sour cream 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese 

10 oz fresh spinach, washed and drained very well and shredded into smaller pieces

1 (8 oz) envelope dry Onion Soup Mix*

1/2 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together, adding spinach very last. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I found that it tastes best if you add make it a couple of hours ahead and let the flavors combine. This tastes great with vegetables and crackers.

*Don't have an onion soup mix on hand? You can also use these spices in place of the soup mix:

1 tsp dried onion flakes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp black papper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Recipe credit: http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Maybe it is because I am hungry, but while surfing the web I found this recipe.  It looks amazing!  I think I need to make this for New Years.  Enjoy and thanks to this website:

http://sweetpeaskitchen.com

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup hot sauce (to taste)
• 3 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 – 4 cups Corn Flakes cereal, crushed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream cheese and hot sauce, cheddar cheese and green onions.
3. Roll a heaping tablespoon of mixture into a 1½-inch ball and place onto a plate or separate baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
4. Place flour in a shallow dish.
5. In a second shallow dish, place eggs.
6. In a third shallow dish, place corn flakes.
7. Dip each chicken ball first into the flour, then the egg and ending with the Corn Flakes. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Yields: 48 bites

The day after Christmas.....

Sunrise on 12/26, the quietest morning of the year.

The day after Christmas.  One of the quietest mornings of the entire year.  It is mixed with all sorts of feelings and emotions.  Tired is one of the first words that comes to mind.  If your house is like mine then it is in a state of disarray.  All bets are off and all rules relaxed on Christmas day. The laundry is backed up, the dishes waited for me this morning and boxes and stuff is just basically laying about, waiting for someone to restore order.  Tiny scraps of missed paper and tape stick to the floors. Order may be slow in coming.

I wanted to pause this morning before I set the house back to some semblance of normalcy to say thank you.  Cascio's had a very good holiday season.  Your patronage can overwhelm us at times, at the Christmas season it comes in a wave (tsunami?) and it can be hard to remember to be grateful when there doesn't feel like enough hours in the day. 

But today is the day to pause and tell you all thank you.  We don't take your patronage and support lightly. We appreciate you, our customers. We hope our products and services enhanced your holiday and helped you to create the Norman Rockwell type holiday your heart longs for.

To our employees we say thank you.  Your dedication and pleasant attitudes helped us make this possible. We are blessed with some of the best folks and we are grateful for their being with us through the long hauls that can be the Christmas season. Thanks to the college students who come back year after year and help make fruit baskets and take hours that allow our full time employees to have a well earned day off in these few days after Christmas.

We have been a part of Somerset's landscape since 1918 and we are looking forward to celebrating 100 years of business in a few short years. In the meantime we give thanks for you and hope you enjoy the rest of the holiday season. 

God bless us all.

Winter Squash Soufflé - Sweet Freedom: Eating Allergen Free

Another installment from Dawn Kiehl-Beals in her Sweet Freedom series! 

Enjoy!

Only five days Christmas will be here!   What's your family's traditional meal?  When I was a little girl my grandmother served ham on Christmas Eve.  We would eat until we were stuffed then have to wash the dishes before we were allowed to open our presents.  Dishes never took longer to get clean than on Christmas Eve!  After opening presents, we would go to the candle light service at our church.  When we got home we were still to keyed up to go to bed so, you guessed it, we would eat again!  This is one if my favorite Christmas memories....eating ham sandwiches with mustard and potato chips at midnight on Christmas Eve!

No matter what your tradition, there's always room for a new healthy, favorite.  I love winter squash and it's a great alternative to the traditional sweet potato dish.  It's also an easy dish to make both gluten and dairy free.  Winter squash is filled with antioxidants and even has anti-inflammatory benefits.  It's also full of fiber and vitamin A.  So, not only does it taste good but it's good for you!  Common varieties of winter squash include:

Butternut squash: Shaped like a large pear, this squash has cream-colored skin, deep orange-colored flesh and a sweet flavor.

Acorn squash: With harvest green skin speckled with orange patches and pale yellow-orange flesh, this squash has a unique flavor that is a combination of sweet, nutty and peppery.

Hubbard squash: A larger-sized squash that can be dark green, grey-blue or orange-red in color. The Hubbard's flavor is less sweet than many other varieties.

Turban squash: Green in color and either speckled or striped, this winter squash has an orange-yellow flesh whose taste is reminiscent of hazelnuts.

Kabocha squash: A type of Japanese squash that is becoming more and more popular in the U.S., kabocha squash is very sweet in flavor. It has deep green skin and orange flesh.

Use these varieties singularly or mix for a unique flavor.  They are all naturally sweet so you only need to add a minimal amount of sugar to peak the flavor.  Enjoy my Winter Squash Soufflé at one of your holiday meals.  Guaranteed your guests will be asking for seconds and even thirds!

Winter Squash Soufflé

6 cups cooked winter squash

1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Earth Balance dairy free butter replacement

1 cup canned coconut milk

3 large eggs

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp vanilla

Topping

1/2 cup earth Balance dairy free butter replacement

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut

1 tsp ginger

1 cup crushed gluten free corn chexs

Mix together and set aside.

Mix all ingredients together, place in a well greased casserole.  Bake at 350 to 400 degrees (depending on your oven) for 45 to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then add topping and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes until topping is lightly browned

Tip: I've found the easiest way to cook winter squash is to cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, place in a glass dish with 1 inch water, skin side up and cook on microwave until squash is soft.

Santa Claus came to town

Don and I first thing in the morning.

For the second year in a row, Don and I have hosted Santa for a day of fun at Cascio's.  I have to say this is one of my hands down favorite events that we do each year.  It is totally free to everyone who comes to see us and includes a chance to tell Santa your hearts desire, get a candy cane and orange and I take a snapshot of everyone who comes.  It was cold this year and Santa brought with him some snow which we have been lacking here in Somerset for most of the winter.  I am thinking next year we are going to add hot chocolate. 

Just a quick bit of history before I share some of the photos of the day.  If you went to Newberrys as a kid and sat on Santa's lap you more than likely sat on the lap of a gentleman by the name of George Roberts.  Mr. Roberts was the Santa Claus for years here in Somerset and the Vo-Tech school even created for him a special chair.  Currently, Lynn Baer has assumed the role of Santa but before he passed away George gave Lynn his chair.  That chair was moved from its storage place in the Glades Pike building (old Newberrys building) and placed on our porch in anticipation of Santa's arrival.

Santa's chair has to be at least 40-50 years old.

For me, one of my most cherished memories of Christmas with my own boys was the first time we took them to see Santa.  I remember it was in the old George's Men's Shop building. George's had been closed and at that time the old buildings were being used for just this type of event.  We walked into the store and there sat Santa.  Spencer immediately grabbed for my hand as he knew that this was the guy, but he wasn't 100% sure about sitting on his lap.  Then Santa looked up and said, "Well there are the Brougher boys."  Spencer's eyes got huge!  He whispered to me, "He knows my name!"  Yes, having grown up here Santa probably does know at least your last name.  He is quick to throw that in to help confirm that he knows you personally.  Then Santa hit a home run, "You helping dad at Cascio's?"  That would forever solidify in Spencer's mind that Santa really did know it all.  From that moment on he told everyone that the "real Santa" came to Somerset.  He wouldn't go near another "mall Santa" again.  He looked with disdain at any Santa who tried to get near him or called him "little boy".  He would look them in the eye and say, "what's my name?" and when they stared back he very smugly had proof that  "the real Santa" came to Somerset.  Years later when we had the inevitable discussion about Santa, Spencer's first question was "But Mom, how did Santa know my name?"  My answer, "He and dad were in high school together."  

I witnessed first hand Santa having that same connection with child after child on Saturday.  He may not know their first name, but he sure did know most of their last names.  When one sweet boy told Santa he had received all A's on his report card, Santa said, "Well I don't think your dad can say he did." which elicited many belly laughs from the family members watching the interaction!  I had a hunch from the way grandma smiled that Santa was right!

Not everyone thought Santa was too great. Wishing that Dad would take him back seemed to be Jude's hearts desire!

What a day.  What a tradition!  I had so much fun.  I was incredibly cold, but I wouldn't have dreamed of missing even one minute of seeing each child get their couple minutes on Santa's lap.  We will be doing this again, we have already booked Santa for 2012. Tomorrow we will return the chair back to it's storage place and we will hope and pray each child's hearts desire gets realized on Christmas morning.  I am especially hopeful for the girl who wants the puppy and the other little lady who asked for a pony!

You don't have to be a child to enjoy Santa.  Is it me or does Santa look  happy on this picture?  Of course he does!

Note:  a complete album is on the Cascio's Facebook page.  If you would like a copy of any of these photos, email me at gracelampwork@yahoo.com and I will send you the original file.  I will delete them from my computer on January 1. 

Thick Chickpea Soup Amongst Other Things....

Another installment from Jane Rose Adams in her "Tuscan Corner" series.  Thanks Jane!

The day before Thanksgiving we kissed our 19 year old daughter goodbye as she boarded a shuttle to the airport. She was off on a three week mission trip to Kenya. I remember thinking how long three weeks would be, how much I’d get done, all the meals I’d prepare for the blog in advance so I’d have an inventory of recipes and pictures..... And then “it” popped into my head: wouldn’t this be a great time to de-clutter, disinfect, scrub carpets and paint her bedroom and bathroom?

Taking full advantage of Parkinson’s Law, (you know the one that says work expands to fit the time available for its completion), I blew the first full week after Thanksgiving with trips to Home Depot staring at color swatches, bringing them home and then eliminating them after Skype chats with Jordan who obviously had her own opinions. Finally we narrowed the field down to blues, and I spent the better part of the next week in sweat pants with blue paint in my hair, trimming, rolling and painting vertical stripes on walls.

This left little time for other creative pursuits and a void in Jodi’s blog last week (I’m sure you hardly noticed). Now with only my Christmas list left hanging over my head, I found time to soak some chickpeas and pull together this rather easy, yet hearty (and healthy) Tuscan soup. Just in time because Jordan returns tomorrow night.

Enjoy!

           

                                                            Pashto Di Ceci

                                                     (Thick Chickpea Soup)

*The recipe below serves four people, but I doubled it

1/2 pound of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight before cooking

2 sprigs of rosemary

3 cloves of garlic

3T extra virgin olive oil, plus additional at table

2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped (Instead I used a cherry tomatoes sauteed in olive oil until they blistered)

1/2 C of chicken broth (I used considerably more because the pasta makes this soup very thick...just keep adding to your desire if you want a thinner soup)

3/4 C small soup pasta (tubettini, orzo, pastina)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the chickpeas slowly, in water to cover by about 2 inches, together with 1 sprig of rosemary and 1 clove of garlic. This process takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Once cooked, drain, reserving the water. Puree about 3/4 of the chickpeas with enough of the reserved water to make a thick puree. Return the puree and the chickpeas to their pot.

Squash the remaining garlic cloves in the oil over a medium heat. When the oil begins to bubble around the garlic, add the tomatoes and remaining rosemary leaves, Add the chicken broth, and cook for 10 minutes. Puree and add to the chickpea soup along with the pasta. Cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. If the soup is too thick add more reserved water or chicken stock. Taste for salt, add a good grinding of pepper and serve with fresh oil at the table. And of course you can’t forget the Tuscan bread!

*If you enjoy “heat” try adding some red pepper flakes or ground cayenne to the soup. Additionally a little ginger and a dash of curry always go well with chick peas!