Success! Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

I made these tonight. Yum! Here's what I did:

Mixed together in large bowl: 2 cups whole-wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp baking soda, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano, and a dash of ground red pepper. (The only thing I actually measure is the flour, so the rest of these measurements are approximate.)

Cut 4 Tbsp butter into small pieces and then mixed into flour with fork until "crumbly."

Stirred in about 1/2 cup shredded cheese. (I think grated Parmesan would work really well in these, too, but I don't have any right now to try it.)

Added 1 cup tomato juice. Stirred with fork and then mixed/kneaded (only a few times) with hands.

Shaped into about 8 large biscuits and baked at 450 for 15 minutes.

I think these were the best biscuits I've made! These are so easy, and so yummy. You'll have to let me know if you try them.

Whole Wheat Biscuits!

I decided to try something new this morning for breakfast: I made fresh, from-scratch, whole wheat biscuits. Let me say this: I am a Bread Eater. So I have to admit, one of the reasons I have hesitated trying biscuits is that I knew I would EAT THEM! And my body has one response when I do. And it's just the opposite response I would really like to happen, especially right now, but anytime. But Sunday morning I went over (next door) to David's great-aunt and great-grandmother's house and they shared some breakfast with me -- including -- you guessed it! -- homemade biscuits his great-grandmother had just made. YUM. Way better than Cracker Barrel. That did it: it got biscuits on the brain, and I decided to take the plunge. For a first attempt, they turned out really good. Here's the recipe I used:

Buttermilk Biscuits

Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, ¾ tsp salt, and ½ tsp baking soda. Using 2 knives (or pastry cutter), cut 5 Tbsp chilled solid butter into flour mixture until course crumbs form. Add 1 cup buttermilk (I reconstituted powdered buttermilk), tossing with fork until dough forms.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Gather into disk. Knead lightly a few times, just until smooth. (Can be made up to 2 hours ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated until ready to use.)

Pat the dough into a square, ¾-inch thick. Cut into square-shaped biscuits with a floured knife. (I used a glass and made round biscuits.) Bake 12-15 minutes on ungreased baking sheet.

For flaky biscuits, don’t overhandle dough.

This made 8 or 9 large biscuits in about 30 minutes, start to finish. We all enjoyed them, and I think I'll try Attempt #2 in the morning!

"Poppy Seed Rice" recipe

David's always been a big fan of his mom's "poppy seed chicken casserole." In fact, she made several big pans of it for our rehearsal dinner supper (almost 9 years ago!). It was a big hit, and made several new "fans" of the recipe.

I like it, too, and made it regularly for us to enjoy -- until our "health/diet transformation." The biggest problems I have with the original recipe are the canned cream soups it uses, and the Ritz cracker topping.

Well, last night I tried a healthier, simpler version of the recipe which I think was a success. It could use a little more seasoning (salt, garlic powder, oregano, basil, etc.) -- but the basic flavors are good and true to the basic idea of the original recipe. Here's what I did:

I cooked a pot of brown rice (about 1 1/2 cups) in water. (I would have used and will use chicken or turkey broth if available. I did allow my rice to soak overnight before cooking.)

To the cooked rice, I added a good bit of cooked (leftover!) chicken meat, one 8 oz package of cream cheese, 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter, some salt and garlic powder, and about a teaspoon or so of poppy seeds. Also, since my rice had already cooled, I added a little water to keep the rice from burning on bottom while I heated it all up again.

I just mixed it all up and left it in the saucepan for us to serve from, but it would look nice spread into and served from a casserole dish, too. (But you might miss the look of the topping more if you spread this into a casserole.) We like the taste of the topping, but that was easy to omit and we still enjoyed the rice mixture. (My brother would object to the missing topping, I'm sure!) Instead of a saucepan or casserole, you could also use a Dutch oven or skillet, of course.

I really liked keeping the ingredients more simple (less processed) and that it was a one-dish meal (since my chicken was already cooked). Another downside to the original recipe is that I would use several dishes to make it -- yuck! Washing dishes is not my favorite pasttime. I don't mind it that much, but I also try to intentionally cut down on the number of dishes I'll have to wash, especially since right now we don't have a dishwasher. (Which most of the time, I don't mind a bit.)

David and I each brought this for our lunch today, along with a baked sweet potato and green salad. It was very good, and something I believe we'll do again!

Well, "Baby Day" is 3 weeks away. I am expecting to be responsible for my own food during my hospital stay; I doubt they will provide me much worth eating. (Isn't that ironic?) I'll try to blog about my experience with the menu options they give me while I'm there! (Of course, there will also be plenty of baby news to share, but I'll do my best! It'd be great if they'll let me keep my little menu sheets.)

Christmas Wassail

David and I have been in a cranberry mood lately, apparently. It all started when I made my cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. (The first attempt last year was successful, so I was eager to make it again this year.) Well, it's a little tart for some people, but David and I love it. I've now fixed a total of 4 batches, I believe, just since the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The fourth batch I just made yesterday, and we've been enjoying munching on it yesterday and today. We use it like a jelly or sandwich spread (we like it with peanut butter, turkey, or plain or with cream cheese) or as a dip (like for bagel or pita chips). We also like it on our salads for a "dressing." I also tried yesterday dipping my apple slices in it, and that was pretty good. I didn't like the celery as well. I prefer peanut butter on my celery (or just plain).

But on to the wassail. David remembered it the other day and I found my recipe before heading out to the store. Tonight I'm enjoying some of my second batch. It does give us more sugar than we usually get, because we rarely drink fruit juice. But it sure does make a nice holiday treat. Here's what I did:

2 cups cranberry juice (100% juice, but it's a cranberry juice blend, not 100% cranberry juice)
2 cups water
2 Tbsp lemon juice (or to taste, I don't measure)
2 Tbsp honey (again, I don't measure)
Cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon
Orange slice with whole cloves

Let simmer on stove top or in a crock pot. Very, very yummy! You'll have to let me know if you try it.

My salad last night (and other recent food-related stuff)

I saw this somewhere recently and wanted to try it, so I mixed it up last night and liked it. I'm posting it here to share and also to remind me if I happen to forget about it (since it was a first-timer, and may not readily come to mind again without a memory prompt).

I mixed together: half a tomato (diced), half a cucumber (diced), 1/2 cup or so of cottage cheese, and 1 green onion (both green and white). I knew I liked all the ingredients separately, but didn't know about combining them -- but it was good. Different, but good.

It made a nice little low-carb, low-cal salad; very filling, very tasty. I try not to do much dairy, so cottage cheese is a little bit of a splurge, but you can't do everything (no grain, no dairy, no meat) all the time -- so I guess I just rotate through them, and in doing so get a lot less of all 3 than I used to. I ate it just like this, but if you wanted I think you could put it on salad greens and eat it that way, too.

Another interesting salad combination I saw this week but haven't tried yet: watermelon, feta cheese, and red onion. Hmm. Several of the comments said it was very good. I have watermelon and red onion right now, and am planning to go to the store today; maybe I can pick up some feta cheese and try it. Feta cheese is not my favorite, but I'm willing to try again.

Oh, and speaking of cheeses and new foods, here's something new I tried and really enjoyed. Okay, let me give you the Aleecia version (the full story): it was about to be the third weekend of celebrating the kids' birthdays. David and I had decided -- celebration, but no more cake. So I wanted something that would be a nice treat and ideally something you could put candles in (so trying to think of an alternative to apple crisp -- yummy and relatively healthy, but not very candle-friendly) -- and saw this idea online: take strawberries and cut them in half length-wise, then fill with a mixture of cream cheese and honey (kind of like you do for devilled eggs). I used a decorative icing thingie for the cream cheese filling, and this looked so pretty on the tray! We put candles in the middle and sang Happy Birthday; it turned out really nice. It is definitely something to do for parties or showers or potluck dinners. It's kind of like strawberry cheesecake but with more strawberry than cheesecake. Very easy, very bite-sized (so in my mind good for big crowds). Well, this doesn't end up using much of the cream cheese (it doesn't take a whole package), so I had this leftover cream cheese-honey mixture. For Jayden, I'm not as worried about breads and dairy as I do for me, because it's okay for her to gain weight, etc. So I had some of the pitas I like to get from Super 1/Brookshire's, and I get the idea to make her a "cream cheese sandwich." I lightly toasted the pita and then added the cream cheese filling (plus a little extra honey for a nice treat); we all loved it. David and I have to keep from eating them; Jayden eats a whole pita of it by herself. If you like cream cheese, I think you'll like this, too. (Think the Toaster Strudels they make with the cream cheese filling; it's like that.) This makes a nice dessert, snack, or even breakfast. It's yummy! You'll have to let me know if you try it.

Summer Salad Recipe

A new salad recipe for us to try (from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/08/a-yummy-scrummy-new-summer-salad.aspx):

INGREDIENTS:
SALAD:
1 pint organic cherry tomatoes
2 cups black, pitted olives
1 cup organic green beans, chopped large
DRESSING:
Approx 1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
About 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 squeeze of lemon juice
GARNISH:
Sprig of fresh mint or oregano

PREPARATION:
Place tomatoes, olives, and green beans in medium bowl.
Place olive oil, garlic oregano, and lemon juice in small bottle and shake.
Pour dressing over salad and toss well.
Garnish with sprig of fresh mint or oregano.

Another Tuna Salad recipe

Here's a tuna recipe my sister sent me that we can try; she made it and said it was really good.

INGREDIENTS
1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
1 dash garlic powder
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 cup chow mein noodles
Lettuce Leaves

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine tuna, peas, celery and onions. In another bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, soy sauce, curry powder and garlic powder; stir into tuna mixture. Stir in almonds; top with noodles. Serve on lettuce if desired.

My Throw-Together Lasagna Success Story

I've always been a fan of lasagna. Pasta, cheese, tomato sauce -- who could resist? Well, Thursday I had lasagna on the brain. We hadn't had lasagna in ages. Plus, with working on the house right now, we're doing a lot of "satisficing" with meals -- so my first thought was to pick up a frozen lasagna at the store on my way out the house. We do have an oven in the house we're able to use, so I figured I could heat that up and that would be our supper.

When I got to the frozen food aisle, I wasn't completely satisfied with either the prices or the ingredients on my lasagna choices. Then, a brainstorm: I wonder if I could put a lasagna together for us? Worst case scenario: I learned it didn't work. But, it ended up turning out really well! We were even able to share leftovers with David's family, and they liked it too. It's definitely a do-over! (In fact, I bought ingredients tonight to make it again this week.)

Here's what I did -- oh, let me give you the ingredients list first:

1 box wheat lasagna noodles (you'll only use half)
1 jar pasta sauce (I used a chunky kind)
1 large carton cottage cheese
1 2 cup bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bag frozen spinach (I used half)
1 container baby portabella mushrooms (I used half)

In my (foil, disposable) baking pan, first I put down a layer of pasta sauce, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Then I put four uncooked lasagna noodles, which worked out right for my size pan. Then, I put a layer of cottage cheese, then mozzarella cheese, then spinach and mushrooms. Then another layer of noodles and another layer of sauce, the rest of the cottage cheese and some mozzarella (but save some for the top), another layer of noodles, then more spinach and mushrooms and cheese. Well, that may not be exactly right, but something like that. I covered it and baked it for about 30 minutes at 350, give or take -- and yummy!

I was trying to think about other veggies that would be good in this, too. I think some small carrot bits would be good. Cooked bell pepper and onion would be good. You could always add a meat layer or two, too. I just didn't want to fool with it, and we didn't miss it.

So tonight at the store I only had to buy cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese and pasta sauce; I had the other ingredients already left over from Attempt #1.

So, now we have a recipe for an unbelievable lasagna -- tasty and unbelievably easy! (And not TOO terribly expensive, either.) You'll have to let me know if you try it.

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

This sounds like a good idea: (from a Yahoo group I've joined)

Mix 2 cans tuna, shredded carrots, raisins, maybe some diced apple and mayonaise. Then hollow out tomatoes and chop up the middle part you took out and add it to the tuna. Mix it well. Then stuff the tuna mixture back into the tomatoes. These are good served with just crackers or with mac and cheese.

Groceries: My List

Things I keep on hand and buy regularly (usually weekly):
eggs, bread, peanut butter, canned tomatoes/sauce/paste, fresh produce (fruits and veggies: bananas, apples, other produce in season or on sale), yogurt or cottage cheese, fruit juices, and lately, cranberries and cream cheese

Things I keep on hand but don't buy weekly (but usually at least monthly):
honey, canned tuna, rice, pasta, dried beans, popcorn, frozen veggies and fruit, wheat and rye flour, corn meal, baking powder, raisins, applesauce, chips and salsa, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sandwich pitas,

Things I occasionally buy but don't try to keep on hand:
mixed nuts for snacking, almonds or walnuts or pecans for salads or baking, tortillas

Things I occasionally buy and freeze until I use:
meat and fish (I buy on sale and then freeze -- so I usually have some available, but I rarely actually buy)

I'll try to add to this as I think of other things and make updates as needed ....

Really Good Budget-Stretching Hints for the Kitchen

Here are some really good ideas for stretching your food budget a little further:

Article: Using Leftovers Wisely, by Terri Cheney
http://www.frugalsimplicity.com/article1020.html

Make Your Own Chicken Stock

It really is very easy! I do this all the time. Basic ingredients: chicken and water. (Of course, there are many optional ingredients and many variations.) Anytime you have leftover chicken bones, there's no reason to throw them away just yet -- boil them up and make you a pot of stock. You can always freeze it for later. Chicken stock is so handy to have on hand for soups and recipes. (I do the same with my turkey leftovers, too.) I haven't bought chicken broth in over a year; it's practically free and so simple to do it yourself. And you can be in complete control of the ingredients.

Check out this video how-to and added information at mercola.com:

http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Making-Your-Own-Chicken-Stock-15468.aspx

Ginger Cinnamon Popcorn

Popcorn is one of our favorite snacks. It's great for the munchies! We have an air popper, and sometimes just enjoy the popcorn plain, sometimes with salt and butter, and sometimes we get even more flavorful. Tonight I decided to try a new combination which worked well and so I thought I would share. In a small saucepan, I melted a tbsp of butter and a little honey (I didn't measure, but it couldn't have been more than a tbsp; I'm pretty stingy with the honey since it's so expensive and we don't need to eat much anyway), and then added some grated ginger. I didn't measure it either, but I stopped when I was tired of grating; it was probably about 1/4 tsp, but maybe more. I sprinkled cinnamon directly on the popcorn, then drizzled the melted butter mixture on top, then mixed it all up -- and voila! It was really good. I think it's definitely a do-over. I'm a cinnamon fan, so this is yet another way to enjoy cinnamon (together with butter, even better!). Let me know if you try it and what you think.

$25 Emergency Menu

A few things on my mind lately led me to put together this $25 Emergency Menu/Shopping List this afternoon. This is "healthy" in the sense of whole, nutritious, simple, old-fashioned foods. It is obviously short-run in nature since doesn't provide much variety, but in the short-run the focus is on meeting basic nutritional needs as cheaply as possible. I've devised a one-week plan for a time when money's tight and you need to stretch your dollars and make do!

The dollar amounts I assigned to each item should take taxes into account and are also the "real world" prices I experience in my everyday shopping -- not sale prices. I even rounded up, so I truly think if you walked into the grocery store with nothing but $25, you could get everything on my list and eat for a week. Not feast, mind you, but eat. And nourish your body, too.

My Emergency Menu assumes only that you have a means to cook (a pot or two and a stove or other heat source), and probably something to put your water in. There are no hidden ingredients necessary that are not on the list. There are optional or desired ingredients, but no necessary ingredients. AND, as to the healthy part, I've only included foods we eat on a regular basis. Now, on to the list:

Healthy “Emergency” Menu

$2 Oatmeal (water; optional: salt, butter, fruit, honey, milk or powdered milk) – 42 oz container; should make 30 bowls
$2 Bananas – 7 (possibly even more)
$2 Eggs – 1 dozen
$3 Beans and Rice (water; optional: salt, additional seasonings, canned tomatoes) – 1 pkg of each
$3 Apples – 7 small size
$3 Carrots – 2 lbs
$2 Bread – 1 loaf
$2 Frozen veggie – 1 pkg
$3 Peanut butter – 1 jar
$3 Water – 10 gallons

Total Cost: $25

With a few extra dollars, I would buy some salt and butter and a can of tomatoes for my beans and rice. With even more, I would buy some honey (it's one of our staples now!). If you have a way to pop it, popcorn makes a great cheap snack. You can buy a whole package of popcorn for about $1.50, which makes several bowls big enough for snacking and sharing. I also regularly make cornbread, which is very cheap per pan, but if you were having to buy everything at once it would be a bit more expensive (you need corn meal, flour, baking soda, butter, eggs, and salt; my emergency list only includes the eggs and probably not too many extra for baking versus just eating plain).

Some details about the items I included and what I buy:

I buy the old-fashioned oatmeal; just the kind regularly available in the grocery store, but not instant or quick oats. Natural, old-fashioned oatmeal. We eat it for breakfast almost every morning. We have eaten it and do eat it plain, but usually we doctor it up a little with butter, salt, honey, and some fruit. One of my favorite versions is with chunks of frozen peaches and a little vanilla and some milk or powdered milk. I also like our apple-cinnamon, banana, and blueberry versions.

Eggs: I'm thinking if you boiled them they would be easier to ration rather than scrambled. I put $2/dozen because we have local sources of good, "home grown" eggs for $1.25 or $1.50 a dozen. You can't get store-bought cage free eggs for $2 (especially including tax), but you could get some type of grocery store eggs for that, which would be okay. I do it to save money all the time. Sometimes I buy the better, more expensive eggs, but sometimes I choose to spend the money elsewhere.

Beans and rice: You can get a package of dried beans for $1 which should be 2 cups; I usually make 2 cups at a time which is a good quantity in my crock pot (regular size). It always makes us at least 6 full bowls, maybe even 8 (with rice and usually cornbread, too). Our favorites: pintos, red kidneys, navy beans, and lentils. I'm a little more uncertain about the size and cost of rice, but I feel certain you can get a bag of rice for $2. Making the rice is a great way to stretch the beans and from what I know, nutritionally beans and rice make a great combination. If you need more information about preparing the beans and rice, or the oatmeal for that matter, please let me know.

Apples: several of our stores have had lunch size apples 3/$1 regularly lately (conventionally grown, of course). This is what I based this suggestion on.

Carrots: real, fresh carrots in the produce section. I'm usually able to get them for $1/lb (sometimes even organic for that price), so I rounded up and left in some leeway here. We love to slice them into carrot sticks or chop them and boil or steam them for a great supper veggie.

Bread: you could get cheap bread for less than $2, but I wanted to make this realistic for us and what we buy. Sometimes I buy bread more expensive than this, but I commonly buy a package of 10 wheat n' honey pitas at Brookshire's for $1.50 -- so that would qualify. Or, it's not a regular purchase any more but I would do it again in a crunch -- Nature's Own offers a wheat bread that according to the label does not include high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes I see it for $1.50/loaf. So these two options are what I had in mind for the $2 I suggested.

Frozen veggie: pick your favorite. Many times the Brookshire's brand veggies will be about $1.25/package, so I rounded up and left some leeway (since some veggies are more).

Peanut butter: I've been buying the organic PB Brookshire's and Super 1 offers which is usually about $2.50/jar, but often goes on sale for $2/jar. I only buy natural, sugar-free peanut butter (and usually organic, but sometimes have to settle).

Water: We've been buying the "water by the gallon" from either the Monroe location (Hwy 165 where Brookshire's used to be; in between Albertson's and ULM -- 30 cents/gallon) or the West Monroe location (at the RV park right at the Well Road exit -- 25 cents/gallon). My figure gives you 10 gallons at 30 cents/gallon.

I enjoyed working on this. Let me know if you have questions! Praying God's blessings on you and your family....

Aleecia

Fruity Frozen Treat

David whipped this up for us tonight, and it turned out good -- especially for a first attempt. I think it will be a do-over:

2 bananas
6 frozen strawberries
1 small can pineapple
Crushed ice (2 cups? -- "lots"... or maybe that was "a good bit")

Blend well and serve. It was very thick; thick enough to use a spoon at first until it melted a little bit, and then we could sip on it. This made two big glasses for us plus some Jayden could have by herself. I think we'll try all different combinations of fruit, too. It was plenty sweet for me as is, but you could always add a little honey or other sweetener if you wanted it even sweeter.

Recipe: Eggplant Creole

I made this for supper tonight (first time at this recipe and first attempt at eggplant), and I must say it was a winner. I imagine I'll make this again -- it may even become a "regular."

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, 1 can water, 1 clove (I used ground cloves), 2 bay leaves, 1 bell pepper (chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1 teaspoon salt; (Optional: 1/2 cup grated cheese, 1/2 cup bread crumbs).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut eggplant in cubes; cook in boiling water for 8 minutes; drain. Place butter and flour in skillet; when blended, add tomato sauce and water; stir until smooth. Add clove, bay leaves, bell pepper, onion and salt. When sauce thickens, fold in eggplant. Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese and bread crumbs. (I omitted the bread and cheese.) Bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with rice or pasta. (Next time I may try putting my noodles or rice on the bottom of my casserole before adding the sauce and baking.)

After making this recipe tonight, it seems like it would be very easy to adapt/substitute with additional or alternative vegetables. I think zucchini would be good either in addition to or instead of the eggplant; extra onion and bell pepper would be good, too. Any vegetables that you think of with an Italian-type tomato sauce would be good. You could also add some type of meat if you wanted.

Recipe: Spinach Mushroom Egg Bake

From mercola.com: Sounds yummy!

http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Delicious-and-Easy-Spinach-Mushroom-Egg-Bake-10264.aspx

Recipe: Roasted Ginger Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Ginger Sweet Potatoes

A nutty, gingery confection of sweet potatoes that will enhance any of your favorite cold weather foods.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
2-3 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
½ cup real maple syrup
1-2 tsp. grated ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
Black Pepper, freshly ground to taste
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to moderately hot temperature (375° F). Combine potatoes, olive oil, syrup and spices. Toss well. Lightly oil a medium sized baking dish and spoon in the potato mixture. Top with chopped nuts.Bake 35 to 45 minutes. Cover with foil halfway through baking if the nuts are getting too brown.

Recipe: Banana Ginger Jam

Banana Ginger Jam
There are two types of banana jam. One type is real jam with sugar and pectin that is put up in jars and processed in a water bath. The other type, which I have been making more and more lately is just a thick banana mush with a little seasoning. It must be kept in the refrigerator and after a couple of weeks (if you don't gobble it up) it will turn into a science experiment. I make it differently each time because I make it from the bananas which get so ripe my family won't eat them. Since I had the happy combination of over-ripe bananas just as I wanted to post the recipe, I made some this morning. I like a lot of ginger flavor so I used 3 Tbsp. You might want to try less at first. This morning I cooked it up in a pan on the stove before I put it in the crockpot. That shortens the crock pot time to about three hours. Here are the proportions:

Banana Ginger Jam

6 ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
pinch of allspice
pinch of cloves
1/4 cup unsalted butter (this adds a lovely silken taste)
2/3 cup citrus juice (today it was 1 lime and the rest orange juice)

Slice the bananas into a crockpot. Add the other ingredients and mix. You can use a potato masher if you like a smoother jam. Cook at least six hours and spoon into jars. Keep in the refrigerator.

Source: Mary Filmore

Recipe: Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrots are available year round, but for some reason, the warm, golden color and the use of a spice like ginger make Carrot Ginger Soup feel like an autumn food. Depending on what type of liquid you use to cook the carrots and whether or not you add cream to the soup at the end, you can make it vegetarian or vegan.

1 diced medium red onion
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp of minced fresh ginger
2-3 cloves finely minced garlic
1½ c. chopped carrots
3 c. vegetable broth
¼ c. orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
¼-½ c cream or milk (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of stockpot. Add onions and cook until soft, but do not brown. Add ginger and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.Add carrots, broth, and orange juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until carrots are exceedingly tender, about 20-30 minutes. In batches, puree soup in blender (or do it in the pot if you have an immersion blender). Thin with additional broth as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.