Recipe: Carrot Ginger Soup

After some really georgeous fall colors, freezing cold temperatures have hit Minnesota (and other parts of the USA, too). And since it already is dark at 5:00 pm, it's time to cook soups and stews. Like the following one - a big help for those who are fighting the cold and flu season.
 

Carrot Ginger Soup
"The cold killer" - four large bowls

• Two pounds or 1 kg peeled and cut (baby) carrots
• one large (Idaho) potato, peeled, in chunks
• fresh ginger, two to four inches (up to 3.5oz)
• one clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• one quart or one liter (vegetable) broth
• about half a cup (100g) of sour cream
• salt, pepper
• optional: ground ginger, chili powder

Chop ginger and garlic in very small dices. In a large saucepan, brown both in butter. Add carrots and honey, sear shortly (don't burn!), then add the potato chunks and broth. Bring to a boil, then let cook on low-medium until a small knife cuts through carrots easily. Stir occasionally during that time.

Add sour cream before blending (I use a hand blender and work directly in the saucepan). Season to taste with salt and pepper, maybe ground ginger or chili powder.

Serve with a slice of hearty, whole grain bread ("Dakota" by Great Harvest Bread Company ...).

Good for freezing, too! Enjoy!

Fresh on/from the stove top ...

Additional remarks:
I have read similar recipes replacing a part of the broth and sour cream with coconut milk.
Use potatoes that would also be great for mashed potatoes because they have more starch.
If you prefer to skip dairy products, use two potatoes instead.

Recipe: Banana bread (with nuts)

I must admit to not have eaten banana bread (in German it would be a "Kuchen") before moving to the US. But now, I have noticed that my husband and I intentionally let bananas ripe on our kitchen counter: time for banana bread!

Yes, I bake other things than cookies. ;) Usually, I prefer bananas when they are still a little greenish ... But this is an alternative:

Whole grain banana bread (with nuts)!

Ingredients (makes one loaf):

• 3 really ripe (brown!) bananas
• 150g (or 5 oz) butter, not salted, at room temperature
• about 130g (or 4-5 oz) sugar (I usually use raw cane sugar)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp almond extract (optional)
• 230g (or 8 oz) whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 100g (or 3.5 oz) chopped nuts
• 100g (or 3.5 oz) rolled/old-fashioned oats

First, mash the bananas with a fork on a large plate. Really, mash them as if there's no tomorrow. ;) (Sometimes I sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice over them to prevent browning, but that is optional.)

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs (and almond extract) until slightly creamy – I do use a handheld electric mixer, but a fancy kitchen aid might serve as well. ;) 

Then add the dry ingredients and make a dough. Finally, fold in the mashed bananas.

Bake in a bread loaf pan or a square shaped pan for about 45 minutes at preheated (oops, I forgot to mention that earlier) 350°F (180°C). 

After 20 minutes already, the yummy yummy smell should lead everyone to the kitchen.

Enjoy pure with coffee, for dessert or buttered for breakfast with honey!


Remarks:
 * Of course, you can always substitute margarine for butter!
* The almond extract is optional, but does - in my experience - enhance the nutty flavor of the whole wheat flour.

Recipe: Whole grain chocolate cookies

Back in Germany, baking cookies is almost completely reserved for Christmas or Advent. At least in my family, maybe that is my farmers’ genes. Here in the US, baking cookies is, well, not daily, but (bi-) weekly business for me. And those cookies are well loved by my husband and (tested on Easter) friends. They won’t last long!

Whole grain chocolate cookies

Okay, here we go for another cookie recipe, so simple your kids might help! For about four dozen cookies (not American size, but small teaspoon size heaps) made of whole grain, you need the following ingredients:

• 150g or about 5 oz (I can’t believe it’s not) butter, softened at room temperature
• a pinch of salt
• 130g or 4oz raw cane sugar
• 1 package of vanilla sugar
• 2 organic eggs, large
• 310g or 11 oz whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g or 3.5 oz oats, old fashioned style/rolled (Haferflocken in German)
• 75g or 3 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat ingredients from butter to eggs until slightly creamy – I do use a handheld electric mixer, but a fancy kitchen aid might serve as well. ;) Then add flour and baking powder – the dough will be very firm, but that’s okay. Finally, fold in oats and chocolate chips.

The dough should look like this.

dough = firm mixture

 

Let the dough rest in the fridge for about half an hour. Then use a teaspoon to form small heaps on parchment paper (on cookie sheets – I usually fill two of them).

Put in the pre-heated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

* For an even healthier approach, you might substitute the chocolate chips with raisins, dried cranberries or even nuts.

* If you want the cookies to be more even, you might form two rolls out of the dough and then cut slices on the baking sheet.

* If you aren't into the whole grain thing at all, "ordinary" sugar and flour works as well. :) 

However: Enjoy!

Cook or bake - whatever ...

I saw this bumper sticker yesterday and do totally agree!

Recipe: Cinnamon bun cookies

I have decided to no more limit this blog to more or less translating my German one ashouston.blogspot.com, but add a new category to this one only: recipes of my US-German kitchen. Or German-US kitchen - who knows.
Because of Christmas coming, I am starting with a Christmas cookies recipe for Cinnamon bun cookies. I found the original on the German site chefkoch.de and modified it a little for US needs. Making those will fill both your stomach and the air of your kitchen with cinnamon flavor and smell. Actually, I do inhale the smell of those fresh from the oven. That's how they looked then:

Want to give it a try? So here is what you need for about 30 cinnamon bun cookies: the ingredients for the dough:

• 2 oz softened butter
• 2 oz plain cream cheese
• 3 oz sugar and 1 pack vanilla flavored sugar or 3.5 oz sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 6.35 oz all purpose flour
• a (large) pinch of baking powder

For making the dough, I used the whiskers of my handheld mixer. First stir butter and cream cheese, then add sugar, salt and the egg yolk and mix well. Last add the (sifted) flour together with the baking powder.
Spread the dough between two layers of plastic wrap (by the way, I used a bottle of wine) to about letter size (8x12 in) and try to keep a rectangular shape. While recovering from that task, prepare the cinnamon spread

• 1 oz butter, melted
• 2 oz sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

Remove the upper layer of plastic wrap and cover the dough well with the melted butter. Then spread the mix of the sugar and cinnamon powder over it. Keep about one tablespoon for the outer layer.
With the help of the wrap, now roll the dough from the shorter side to a solid formed round bar, cover it in the remained cinnamon sugar. Wrapped in the plastic wrap, put it in the fridge for three hours (or in the freezer for half an hour).
Preheat the oven to 350°F, prepare one or two cookie sheets and unwrap the cookie bar. With a sharp knife, cut slices (.25 inch thick) from the bar, put them on the cookie sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes until slightly browned.

Enjoy! (And leave a comment, if you tried them.)