Cinnamon Knots

I love anything with cinnamon and these knots didn't disappoint. Warm from the oven they are a delicious treat with a cup of coffee. If you desire you can use your favorite sweet yeast dough for these knots. At the end if there is any sugar/cinnamon mixture left over you can save it for cinnamon toast.
This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine, I made a few changes.
I love the many various ways of using cinnamon bun dough. What do you make with your sweet yeast dough?

• Dough:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 4 1/2 - 5 cups of flour
• Topping: 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Scald milk, whisk in 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, and salt. Add eggs slowly whisking the whole time.
2. Add yeast and 4 cups of flour, mixing thoroughly. Continue adding flour as needed and knead for 5 minutes until dough feels soft, smooth, and elastic. It's okay if the dough is slightly sticky, it's better for the dough to be slightly sticky than using too much flour.
3. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 hours.
4. Divide dough into 3 even portions, Shape each portion into 12 balls. Work with one portion at a time.
5. Roll each ball into an 8" rope. Combine sugar and cinnamon from the Topping ingredients.
6. Dip each rope into melted butter, then coat with sugar/cinnamon mixture and tie into a knot, tuck and pinch ends under and place on parchment lined pans. Repeat with remaining dough.
7. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
8. Bake in a 375º oven for 12 minutes.
9. Cool slightly then drizzle with icing glaze or serve plain. Either way they are delicious.
10. Yield: 3 dozen knots

Microwave Rice

I never cook rice any other way than in the microwave. It's just too easy, no mess and perfect fluffy rice every time.
Cooking rice in the microwave rather than on the stove top takes more water, contrary to what you would expect. I don't know the scientific reason for that, but I just know that is how it works and why fix what isn't broken!

• for 1 cup of rice use 3 cups of water 
• add salt to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon butter 

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl that allows for expansion. 
2. If you are not using a bowl with a lid, simply cover with a dinner plate. 
3. Place in microwave at high power ... set for cooking time of 25 minutes and 'forget about it'. 

 * Cooking rice in chicken broth instead of water adds great flavor ... If I don't have chicken broth, adding a chicken bouillon cube is good too. (Make sure it is gluten-free if you need it to be)
I use converted white rice, brown rice or my favorite - sprouted rice.  Sprouted rice is the healthy choice ... you can read about it here. 

NOTE - I know microwaves vary in power, so when cooking the rice the first time take note of time needed.

Mud Pie Deluxe

With a chocolate crust and coffee ice-cream filling, topped with rich chocolate sauce, whipped cream and toasted almonds...this dessert is a wonderful summertime treat!

 Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (like Oreo)
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Filling:

• 2 L / 8 cups coffee ice-cream, softened

Chocolate sauce:

• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish:

• chocolate pieces or shavings for garnish
• toasted or caramelized almonds

1. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter.  Press into bottom of a 9" spring form pan.
2. Spoon  ice-cream onto crust (or cut into slices to fit).  Level with spatula.  Freeze.
3. For chocolate sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat and stir over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm, then spread over ice-cream layer.  Return to freezer.
4. Whip cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff.
5. To serve, top each slice with whipped cream, shaved chocolate and sliced almonds.

Serves 12

Note: In our area Safeway stores carry wonderful coffee ice-cream with the Lucerne label.

Baked Beans Barbecue Style

Our favourite side with Pulled Pork Sandwiches is baked beans.  Buy a bag of dry beans the next time you are at the market and put them on to soak.  The reward will be worth the effort put into planning.

Once the beans are ready to cook, the dish is put together in no time and your side dish is ready to put in the oven for a slow simmer and serve the next day.

• 500 grams / 1 pound dried small white beans
• 1 pound (approximately) good quality bacon,  diced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 4 cups water (reserved from beans)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

1. Rinse and sort beans, discarding discolored or shriveled beans.   Cover beans with a few inches of water in a medium sized pot with a lid.  Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes and then remove from heat and let stand 2  hours.  If necessary, add more boiling water to pot to keep the beans covered. Drain and reserve the water to use in the recipe.
2. Fry the bacon in a heavy dutch oven, drain excess drippings. Add onion and saute until the onions have softened.  Add remaining sauce ingredients to the pot.
3. Add the beans and 4 cups of the water that the beans cooked in.  Add additional water if needed to cover the beans. 
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, preheat the oven to 250 F.  Bake the beans for 8 hours.  Check and stir beans every few hours.  Add additional water if needed to keep the beans just covered with liquid. (I have not ever done the recipe in a crock pot but I think you could.  I would recommend that you check to see what temperature the settings are on your crockpot and judge whether you should cook the beans on low or high, based on that information. 

Bread for the Journey

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

Hebrews 11:1 (Good News Bible)

It takes courage to live our life by faith and not by sight, choosing to let go of control and place our hope into the Lord's hands rather than in our own.
Our journey here on earth is uncertain and we can't see what is around the next corner which may give us a real mix of emotion including anything from excitment to fear.

Faith in something we can not see challenges us to trust God to be true to His Word and promises. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.

God sees clearly the path before us and sees what we can not see. At times I struggle fully grasping that truth for myself even if my life experience has proven to me that indeed God is faithful. My desire is to keep strengthening my trust in Him and to encourage those that I journey with to do the same.

Prayer; Lord help us to keep our eyes fixed on you Jesus and not on the road in front of us heavily laden with fog straining our eyes to see rhat only you can see, but to trust that you will lead us as we walk in obedience to your Word and making our faith stronger with each step, trusting that you will never fail us or forsake us. In your precious name I pray. Amen. 

Konigsberger Klopse (German Meatballs)

This recipe was invented in the city of Konigsberg, today known as Kaliningrad, Russia.
My aunt, Tanta Hanna was born and raised in East Prussia, Germany and this was one of her signature dishes. Later in her life when they moved to the Fraser Valley she was one of the top cooks at Menno Hospital.  I have always interpreted this recipe as 'Meatballs for a King' and once you have taken the time to work through the processes, you'll know why it's worth it. The traditional creamy sauce is made from the broth in which the meatballs were cooked. This dish was only served on special occasions.  February is the birthday month for our family.  So this past weekend I served this to our family as they ramped and raved about this 'old fashioned comfort food.'

Ingredients

Broth ~ Prepare Broth

• 6 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 whole allspice
• 6 pepper kernels
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 onions chopped medium size

1. Add water to the soup pot.
2. Add spices. 
3. Chop your onions medium size and add to the broth.
4. Wait till the onions drop to the bottom of the pot.

Let this broth simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare your onion mixture.

Onion Mixture ~ Prepare while the broth is cooking.

• 2 onions chopped fine 
• 4 tablespoons butter 
• 2 tablespoons parsley

1. Melt butter in a frying pan.
2. Fry onions in butter and add parsley. Do this slowly.
3. Fry the onions till caramelized.  This reduces excess moisture.
4. Now add this mixture to the meat mixture 

Meat Mixture: Meatballs ~ Prepare meatballs and spices while your onion mixture is frying.

• 2 pounds ground veal (optional: ground beef)
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 onion chopped fine
• add the onion mixture (above) to this meat mixture

1. Combine veal and other ingredients and mix well.
2. Add one more chopped fine onion.
3. Now add the onion mixture from above.
4. Form meat into golf-size balls.
5. They may be a bit delicate to work with but the final result will be moist.  
6. Lay the meatballs on a baking sheet and carefully place them into the hot broth.
7. Let cook for 30 minutes and remove meatballs from the hot broth.
8. Do not stir, as they will fall apart.
9. Discard bay leaves.

To Make Creamy Sauce

• Mix 1/4 cup water with 6 tablespoons flour and mix well.
• Add this to your beef broth and it will thicken.
• Add 2 beef bouillon to the broth.
• Add 1 cup sour cream to the broth and stir.
• Make sure it has a thickening consistency.  You may need to add a bit more flour considering your amount of broth.  You will never have enough broth sauce.
• Add the cooked meatballs back to the heated sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve meatballs and cream sauce with new boiled potatoes or buttered spaetzle noodles.

We always serve this on potatoes, add capers, and fresh parsley.

You won't be making this every day, but remember, when you do...it's for a special occasion.

It freezes well and has been served on many a ski holiday. 

A feast fit for any birthday!

Tomato Soup (Flashback Friday)

The new bride who shared this recipe with me some 30 years ago had no idea what a family favorite it would become to us. I've been wanting to re-post it because I feel like I need to reiterate how easy and delicious it is!  When I posted it early in 2009, the photo had a puff pastry on it - which possibly just looked too complicated. Hopefully this one will eliminate any of those fears. This soup makes a nice appetizer or main course served with a quickly made French Bread. Over the years this has been my go-to soup and bread to take to someone who needs a meal.

Soup Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped very fine
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped very fine
• 2 stalks celery, chopped very fine
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp dill weed
• 28 oz canned whole tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste
• 2 cups chicken stock

White Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp butter 
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk

Method:

1. Blend tomatoes in blender until just blended. (Do not substitute whole tomatoes with crushed tomatoes - the flavor will be much stronger)
2. Heat first 4 ingredients in large pot until vegetables are soft.
3. Add spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Add chicken stock.  Simmer 20 min.
4. In a small pot, melt butter, using whisk - blend in flour and milk, stirring continuously to make a smooth sauce. Once it bubbles, add into tomato soup. Serves 4 – 6

Tips and ideas:

• I often double the recipe as it is good for leftovers. I've also added a can of tomato rice soup with water to stretch the recipe. I like the rice in there.
• For chicken stock I use 1 Knorr bouillon cube with water or Better than Bouillon (paste) with water. To make a vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth.

• To serve with puff pastry, Cool soup slightly, refrigerate until ready to use. Divide among 4 -6 onion soup bowls, leaving 1 inch from top. Roll out 1 -2 pkgs (14 oz each - 397 g) thawed frozen puff pastry to 1/8" thick. (I used 1 pkg. for 6 bowls, but I had to combine the scraps and re-roll) Cut rounds out, about 6 inches in diameter – slightly larger than tops of bowls. Cut a few slits to allow steam to vent. Press to outside of bowl, but not to rim. Chill 1 hour. Bake on lower 1/3 of oven, at 400 F, 15 – 20 min. Watch that the pastry doesn't brown too quickly.

Chewy Sandwich Cookies

I got this recipe from my mother in law, I used less sugar than she did and found they tasted just as good. They have a chewy texture and a hint of spicy flavor. She claimed they tasted best right out of the freezer. Either way I find them delicious.
There is no butter or shortening in this recipe just in case you thought I forgot.

• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

1. In a bowl mix molasses, corn syrup, sugar, eggs, and lemon juice until well blended.
2. In a separate bowl stir together 1 cup flour, baking soda, ginger, lemon zest, and combine with the mixture in the first bowl. Then add more flour as you need. I used 3 cups in total.
3. Separate the dough into 2 parts and shape each part into a roll. You may need a little extra flour as you shape the rolls as the dough tends to be a bit sticky. Wrap in waxed paper and freeze.
4. Remove from freezer and slice the rolls into approx 1/4 inch slices and bake in a 350º oven for 8 minutes.
5. Cool on rack. Spread jam between 2 cookies. I prefer wild plum jam.
Yield: 38 sandwiched cookies

Butter Soup

Butter Soup is pronounced"bu .. tta soop" (as in book) I really think this was one of the clinchers in obtaining a marriage proposal since my mom made it and his mom did not.

I've learned to make it and every now and then we have it for a treat for our lunch.

It really is a poor persons soup. It can be gussied up by adding some smoked meat but really it tastes quite nice as simple as it is. If you love noodles, there is a good chance you will like this. Did anyone else ever have this growing up?

Butter Soup

• 8 cups of water
• 1 large onion
• 6 medium fresh potatoes. . with the skin left on
• 1 large bay leaf
• 5 whole cloves
• 8 peppercorns
• 1 star aniseed
• a handful of fresh parsley

1. Bring water to boil, add the onion and the large diced potatoes. Simmer 15 minutes.
2. Add all the spices but the parsley wrapped and tied in cheesecloth. Let simmer another while you make the noodles.
3. Add the chopped parsley to the soup separately from the cheesecloth.

Noodles

• 1 large farm fresh egg
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Stir together the egg water, salt and stir in half the flour and then dump it onto the counter and knead in the rest of the flour. You may need a little more.
2. The way my mom did it and I continue to do it. I cut it into strips, and with a clean scissor, I cut noodles, some small and others a bit bigger. No need to be perfect here. Doing it this way, you don't add a lot of extra flour into the soup.
3. Stir the noodles into the soup, bring to boil and boil a few minutes until the noodles are done.
4. Ladle it into bowls, and put a dollop of butter onto the top, serve with a bit of fresh cream.

Strawberry Ala Mode

It's our first long May Day weekend.
Victoria Day!
Invite a few friends and serve up a fresh strawberry shortcake.

How do you serve strawberry shortcake to a large crowd?

Instead of plating each one individually, I made it in a large fruit bowl.
You can use biscuit dough or your favorite shortcake recipe.

 I used my favorite sponge cake recipe.
Oh, how many of you know the difference between a sponge cake and an angel food cake?
Sponge cake only uses the fat from the egg yolk.
Angel food cake uses no fat. (egg whites only)

 Ingredients for Sponge Cake

• 9 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 4 pounds fresh strawberries quartered
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream for topping, adding sugar to taste or you can use softened ice-cream.

Method

1. Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and baking powder in your mixing machine at high speed for five minutes.
2. Slowly add flour and cornstarch and mix at slow speed till mixtures are combined.
3. Bake in a tube pan with a removable bottom.
4. Dust bottom of the pan with flour.  Do not grease an angel food cake pan, preventing it from falling when you turn it upside down.
5. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. When baking is completed, remove from oven and turn upside down for about 40 minutes.
7. Remove cake from pan and lay on a rack.
8. I used a 4 1/2' x 13" pan (rectangular).  It's easy to cube and I can freeze what I don't use.
9. I always have a few extra pieces in my freezer. 

Strawberry Mixture

1. Cube and layer sponge cake in a glass bowl.
2. Combine sugar and strawberries and layer over the cubed cake.
3. Repeat this procedure 3 times, finishing off with strawberries on the top.
4. Swirl whipping cream till it reaches a high mound. 
5. Top with a few extra berries.
6. Prepare ahead of time, let the flavors juice together and chill in the fridge.

Have fun creating your own version.

Just in time for the long Victoria Day Weekend.