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Monday, November 21, 2011

Chicken Noodle Soup

In my fall CSA I had signed up for two chickens. I thought it would be a good dry run for the turkey, since I haven't cooked a whole bird in at least 8 years. The best part about this was the meat left on the bones after the meal. This week I decided to turn it into soup. We have all had a bout with the flu in the last week, so I thought a good serving of veggies and broth was just what we needed to get our immune systems back up and running. Also, I haven't had chicken noodle soup in a decade - I was never a fan before - and the kids have probably never had it. I thought this was a good time as any to introduce them. It was a huge success with everyone, and I cannot wait to make a turkey rice soup next week.


Chicken Noodle Soup
1 C cooked chicken, chopped
3 leeks, green and white parts sliced thin
2 large carrots, sliced into 1/4 rounds
2 salad turnips, chopped
6 leaves napa cabbage, leaves and stems separated and chopped
6 C broth
1 1/2 C uncooked pasta (noodles, shells, anything small and bite sized)
salt & pepper

1. Add broth to a large soup pot and turn to medium heat. Add carrots, turnips, leeks and stems of cabbage. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and drop to a simmer for an hour. Add in chicken, cabbage leaves and pasta. Bring to boil again, cover and drop to a simmer for about 10 minutes, until pasta is soft. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a crusty roll and enjoy!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Doughnuts!!!!

A friend gave me a set of doughnut pans to try my hand at baked doughnuts. I made a double batch of spiced doughnuts with maple cream cheese frosting for Halloween. I brought 1/2 to a party I went to and 1/2 to my son's scout party. They were a huge hit. Now I have to return the pans tomorrow, so I decided to whip up one more batch before I see them go. It is totally possible to not use doughnut pans for these, too, so don't worry if you're not so lucky to already have these. However, I would suggest buying some because they make the most beautiful easy doughnut. I know what I want for Christmas....


Carob Doughnuts
2 C flour
4 T carob powder (you can replace this with the same amount of cocoa powder)
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/3 C sugar
1 t nutmeg
1 t salt
4 T butter
1/2 C buttermilk (if you don't have any, add 1 T to regular milk and let sit 10 minutes)
1/2 C vanilla yogurt
2 t maple extract (you can use vanilla if that's all you have)
2 large eggs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large mixing bowl add flour, carob powder, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Combine thoroughly.
3. Add in nutmeg and salt and combine.

4. Cut butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Use your hand to mix it in until ingredients are crumbly. It's easiest to use very cold butter for this.
5. In separate bowl add buttermilk, yogurt, eggs and extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
6. Poor wet ingredients into dry and using a spoon, mix thoroughly. Let rest 5 minutes.
7. If you have doughnut pans, grease them lightly and spoon mixture into pan, filling molds 2/3 full.
8. If you do not have pans, grease a cookie sheet and drop about 2 T of mixture at a time around pan. Use your thumbs to gently pull globs apart, exposing  center hole.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set.
10. Remove from stove, let sit on a cooling rack for 5 minutes then gently remove from pan (use a butter knife to help) and place on cooling rack.

These are amazing as they are, but if you want you can glaze or frost them. These hold up fantastic to dipping in coffee or hot cocoa. Enjoy!