Long, lost recipes...

I do not understand the desire to hoard recipes. In my opinion, not sharing a fabulous recipe is just wrong. And, just to prove that their is Karma in such things, I recently recovered three recipes that I'd lost track of over the years. How did I get them back? Well, from the good friend I shared them with of course! Thanks Jamie...

This one is a very tasty salad dressing, and I recently discovered that while Benihana serves it with green onion and carrot on lettuce, the sweet and sourness of this recipe goes amazingly well with strawberries and mandarin oranges!

Oh, and if you're going to go to the trouble of chopping, peeling, and then whizzing this up in your food processor, triple the recipe below (like I do) and make three cups instead of one, then give some away to friends (with the recipe of course!)

Benihana of Tokyo's Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing

1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. peanut oil
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. water
1 T. chopped ginger
1 T. chopped celery
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. tomato paste
1.5 t. sugar
1 t. lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together with salt and pepper to taste, until smooth. Makes 1 cup.

Now, this is one that I was thinking about a few years ago and wishing I had the recipe again... I'd totally forgotten that I'd put it in Jamie's bridal-shower cookbook that we gave her. Jen and I used to whip up this dough when we (and Jamie) roomed together up at Western in the Cambridge Square Apartments. It's a super-speedy and tasty dough.

Cambridge Square Pizza Crust

1 pkg. yeast
1 c. warm water
2.5 c. flour
2 T. oil
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt

Dissolve yeast in water, stir in remaining ingredients and beat vigorously for about 20 strokes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Top and cook at 450-degrees F.

And, last, but not least... the punch that Jamie served at my bridal shower, and we served at the wedding. And, countless weddings and showers (baby and bridal) ever since. Technically, this one wasn't lost, since I posted it to Allrecipe.com years ago, but still, it was fun to see it and have it here.

Tart & Bubbly Wedding (and Shower) Punch

2 cans frozen cranberry juice (or 1 gallon in bottle)

2 cans frozen pink lemonade
1 large can pineapple juice (or 2 cans frozen pineapple juice - Hawaii's Own)

2 liters ginger ale (and cranberry ginger ale is great too)

In a large punch bowl, mix concentrates and juices. Add ice and slowly pour in the ginger ale.

Tastes Like Home

Bellingham is our other home. It's where Joel and I began, it's where we graduated college, and is the first home we moved away from together. And, it took a long time for us to feel like this was home. Even after we bought our house, it took a while for here to be home instead of feeling like B'ham was still the place to be...

Luckily, we've come to love our current home very much and feel very connected here as well. And, we also have some very close friends North of Bellingham and family in Sudden Valley, so we get to enjoy fun times with wonderful people on our visits back there.

One of the many nice memories of B'ham is Village Books and the Colophon Cafe. And, thankfully, I've also got a little cookbook of theirs. I made their African Peanut Soup this weekend, and it is as lovely as I remember — spicy, complex and delicious with ginger and garlic, peanuts, tomato and chile. Trust me, it's a top seller. And, the recipe is even online right here. Really, I wouldn't steer you wrong. I do, however, cut the tomatoes in half since I like this less tomato-filled. But, that's just my preference. Try it! Even if Bellingham was never your home, but especially if it was!!

And, the Beat Goes On...

I say, when you're on a roll, just go with it... so, here's my rendition of Margarita Iced Tea! In the midst of running errands, Erik and I shared lunch at Taco Time the other day, and I was pleased to discover their delicious "Margarita Iced Tea." It was perfect. Black tea with "that great margarita flavor you love," not too sweet, and very refreshing. But, at $1.89 a pop for 16 oz., frugal me isn't going to keep buying it. Then, today I found margarita mix and cold brew Lipton tea bags on sale at the grocery. Mmm... You're welcome.

Do you love the re-use of my Taco Time cup?? So green of me...

Margarita Iced Tea
2 bags cold-brew Lipton tea
16 oz. cold water
4 oz. margarita mix
1/2 glass crushed ice

Brew the tea for 3 minutes in a tall glass. Pour over ice in another large glass (about 3/4 of the cup) then add the limey goodness (about 1/4 of the cup - I really eyeballed it). Stir. Add the rest of the tea as you sip (and adjust to taste). Enjoy!

Soup's On!

Is there anything better (or easier) than homemade soup? Really, chop/prep the ingredients, combine in soup pot, and simmer on the stove while you do other things. Easy! And, homemade soup tastes infinitely better than anything out of a can. Plus, there is way, way less sodium in soup you make yourself. Oh, and it happens to be a sneak-tastic way to get my veg scrutinizer to eat vegetables that he otherwise wouldn't willingly try. So, since Easter, I've made Potato Leek, Creamy Cauliflower, and today... 4B's Tomato Soup (Erik despises tomatoes).

Potato Leek is easier than pie, and my mom's fave. She actually prepped that one after Easter brunch by chopping up about six potatoes, and three large leeks (all, even the green part), tossed them in my soup kettle, and covered with water. It simmered for about an hour, then I seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper, and whirred it up in my blender in batches. Voila! Dinner full of veg that E wouldn't usually eat (well, the leeks anyway).

I did the Creamy Cauliflower in similar fashion, cleaning and separating into florets, one head of cauliflower. I tossed that into a hot soup pot with 2 Tbs. of butter and about 1/3 cup of tiny star-shaped pasta. I browned that up, then added hot water to cover and simmered until the cauli was soft. Then I tossed in a can of navy beans (with bacon) for about 10 mins of simmering, a little garlic, celery salt and pepper, and whirred batches in my blender. Erik inhaled two bowls and said, "Hmm... I guess that I do like cauliflower. I thought I didn't."

(clockwise in pic: 4B's tomato regular and creamy, E enjoying his soup, E prepping cheese sammies to go with leek onion soup, and creamy cauliflower with cheese crisps)

And, so... on to an actual recipe! The 4B's is a popular restaurant chain in Montana, where we had this fabulous soup with Jamie and John on a summer road trip, nearly six years ago. I found the recipe online, posted by a local paper in Havre, MT. I'm going to follow it pretty closely, except for the cream part. To lighten up this one, I'm going to employ my trusty blender to "cream" the soup. My second reason for the blending is to get Erik to love tomatoes (which he's already informed me that he doesn't like and won't eat). Blending those tomatoes will make the soup creamy, yummy, and chunk-free!

4B's Tomato Soup (adapted from the recipe posted here, plus, I doubled the recipe since I had enough ingredients to do so!)
2 28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes (I used organic)
18 oz. chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. chopped onion
2 pinches of baking soda

Combine ingredients in a soup pot, bring to a low boil over medium-high, and then reduce to low to simmer for one hour. Then comes the cream part...

2 c. half and half - (and being doubled, if you are following the real recipe, this should be 4 c. half and half or cream - yikes!)

Heat the half and half in the microwave until nearly boiling, then add to tomato mixture (not the other way around) before serving.

I blended about 1/2 of the tomato mixture in the blender first, than added some of it back to the pot, which made the soup creamy without all the fat of the 4 c. of half and half (I only used 2c.), then add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!! I also separated a completely creamed amount out for Erik, and left the chunkier soup for the rest of us, so E's did have more of the half and half in it as well.

The verdict... Erik LOVED the creamy version of the 4B's soup! And, I think that tossing in a handful of carrots to simmer for the hour (for sweetness) and maybe blending in white beans would lend creaminess without the fat of half and half and add protein and vitamins — I'll definitely try that next time!

Tasty Shrimp, and nearly perfect Vanilla Cake

Karen and I had her favorite Bonefish Grill appetizer last week, and it was pretty good. It wasn't as tasty as when it was a regular on their menu, she said, but I tracked down the recipe so we could make it (tastier) at home. I also found an excellent — not-too-sweet, moist and light, vanilla cake recipe this week that I used for my birthday cupcakes. Yum!
Saucy Shrimp appetizer (or dinner - great with a Rocket salad!)

1/2 c. rough-chopped sun-dried tomatoes (dry, rehydrated are best)
1/4 c. lemon juice
Juice of 2 fresh-squeezed limes
1/4 c. fresh chopped or pressed garlic
1/2 c. white wine (optional)
5 Tbs. sugar (or agave syrup)
1 c. whole milk or half-and-half (the recipe calls for heavy cream, but not tried it that way yet)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper (or to taste, optional)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter cut in small pieces (the recipe calls for 1/4 pound of butter, but... yikes)
1 1/4 pounds small gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined (50/60 count optimal)
24 (or more, to taste) kalamata olives
Olive oil for pan
3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
Italian Parsley for garnish

To make lime garlic sauce, place sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, wine, sugar, salt, and white pepper in saucepan. Place on medium heat and reduce by half. Add half-and-half or milk, reducing mixture until thick and bubbly. On medium to low heat, slowly add butter until incorporated. Keep warm.

To prepare shrimp, pour a little olive oil into saute pan, coating entire surface. Saute shrimp and olives together until shrimp are tender; remove from heat. Add 2 cups lime tomato garlic sauce. Stir the sauce in with shrimp thoroughly; do not put back on heat. Pour all ingredients onto a large round serving platter. Top with feta crumbled evenly over dish, and garnish with parsley. Yield: 4-6 servings. Source: Bonefish Grill


Simple White Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 c. organic sugar
1 cube butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line muffin tins with paper liners.

Use your Kitchenaid to cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add and mix well. Last, add the milk and blend to make a smooth batter. Scoop batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or 20-25 minutes for cupcakes. Frost and enjoy!