- Page 45 of 69 - Wholesome Recipes Made for Sharing

December 11, 2014

Black Bean Soup

Depending on the day, I find myself either wanting to invest all of my energy into being as festively creative as possible or wanting to escape the holiday busyness to instead seek quietness and simplicity. I struggle with finding balance. I’ve been baking up lots of Christmas goodness in the kitchen this past week, but I need a little break so today I’m going to tell you about this Black Bean soup. It has nothing to do with holidays or Christmas, but it is still a very wonderful recipe. My kids told me to write a post about this soup because they adore it so much. It starts off with a simple yet flavorful black bean soup, and then it can be dressed up and customized with a variety of toppings. The beans are first cooked and seasoned with a small portion of ham and then they are partially blended together to form a creamy, hearty, and satisfying soup. Perfect for gatherings since the soup can be made ahead of time and then everyone can add toppings to their own liking. Add a green salad, some salsa and chips, and dinner is complete!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

For the beans:

1 pound dried black beans
4 ounces nitrate-free ham steak
2 bay leaves
5 cups water
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

For the soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, choppped (about 3 cups)
1 large carrot, chopped (about ½ cup)
3 celery ribs, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1½ tablespoons cumin
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lime juice

For garnishing:

lime wedges
diced jalapeño
chopped cilantro
minced red onion
avocado
sour cream
grated Monterey Jack Cheese

Instructions

For the beans:

In a large pot, add the beans, ham, bay leaves, water, and baking soda. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, stir in salt, and simmer for 1½ hours. Do not drain. Discard bay leaves. Remove ham and dice into ¼-inch cubes. Set aside.

For the soup:

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, carrots, celery, and salt until lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. Lower the heat and add the garlic, red pepper, and cumin and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Stir in the beans, cooking liquid, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Transfer 1½ cups beans and 2 cups liquid into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Stir mixture back into the soup. Alternatively, an immersion blender can be used to achieve desired consistency.
Mix cornstarch and water and gradually stir into the soup. Bring back to a boil to thicken. Turn off heat. Stir in lime juice and reserved ham. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with garnishes.

Notes

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

December 8, 2014

Classic Gingerbread Cookies

We hosted a gingerbread house making party over the weekend and rather than making the houses from scratch like I did last year (fun, but totally crazy), we bought kits and just jazzed them up with some of our own candy. I did however make gingerbread cookies so that the kids could still eat their gingerbread. (and so our house could still smell like gingerbread!) I almost didn’t post this with so many gingerbread cookie recipes floating around, but then I decided I wanted it on the blog for myself so I could remember which recipe was my personal favorite. I’ve tried several recipes in the past that either tasted great, but didn’t hold its shape, or held its shape, but was too crunchy or bland. These classic gingerbread cookies have just the right amount of spice and are slightly crisp on the edges and soft in the middle. For me, these are the perfect gingerbread cookies and the ones that I want to keep on making for years to come.

Couldn’t resist adding in these pictures. So thankful for those little helping hands in the kitchen.

Classic Gingerbread Cookies

Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:

½ cup dark molasses
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon + ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups white whole wheat flour

Royal Icing:

1 tablespoon meringue powder
1⅓ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

Cookies:

Set a small glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and place the molasses, sugars, ginger, and cinnamon in the mixing bowl. Stir until the sugars are completely dissolved. Stir in the baking soda. When the mixture bubbles up, remove the glass bowl from the heat.
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the hot molasses mixture and mix on medium-low speed until butter is melted. Let mixture cool to about 90 degrees, then beat in the egg. Gradually add the flours 1 cup at a time and mix until just combined. Gather dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Place dough on a well-floured surface and roll out until dough is ¼-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place cookies on baking sheets. Chill cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until tops of cookies appear dry. (Do not over bake or cookies will not be soft.) Cool on racks and decorate with royal icing. (I used a Wilton #2 tip for decorating.)

Royal Icing:

Beat all ingredients together until icing forms peaks and starts to appear matte, about 7-10 minutes in a stand mixer. If necessary, add additional water a couple drops at a time to thin.

Notes

slightly adapted from The Martha Stewart Cookbook

December 4, 2014

Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries

I have faint memories of being a child and envying the kids that packed pop tarts as their on-the-go breakfast for the bus ride. At least in my mind, those looked like the best breakfast treats ever. While my parents were not extreme health enthusiasts during my childhood, they did strive to provide healthy meals and snacks for us and thus pop tarts were not part of the family diet. In my own mission for my children to have a healthy and wholesome way of eating, I try to limit the amount of processed food and sugars that they eat, but I also try to provide a reasonable amount of treats so that they aren’t left feeling deprived. These Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries are one of our latest treats and are my healthier version of pop tarts. Of course, they are wonderful straight out of the oven, but they conveniently reheat well in the toaster.

Rather than making my own chocolate hazelnut butter this time, I decided to keep things simple and used my favorite store-bought version, Justin’s. It worked beautifully and helped with being able to finish these off fairly quickly. To make this a bit healthier than a traditional pie pastry, I used spelt flour along with ground sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. The seeds add an element of nuttiness to the crust and the oils from the seeds decrease the usual amount of butter necessary for a crust pastry.

I had planned on adding a drizzle of melted chocolate on top, but in the end I decided a simple sprinkle of coarse salt and turbinado sugar was enough for me. Do not skip this step- it makes a surprisingly big difference! Go ahead and add a drizzle of melted chocolate though if you want to be extra fancy. Enjoy!

Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries

Serves: about 10 pastries

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour
¼ cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
¼ cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
about ½ cup chocolate hazelnut butter
coarse finishing salt and turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, add the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Process until seeds are finely ground. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine vinegar and 6 tablespoons of ice water. With the food processor running, gradually add the vinegar and water. Process just until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and finish kneading together by hand. Form dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to make a rectangle approximately 16- inches x 11-inches. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 3-inch x 2½-inch rectangles. You should have 20 rectangles.
Take one rectangle and spread 2 teaspoons chocolate hazelnut butter in the middle, leaving a border around the edges. Top with another rectangle and use a fork to crimp the edges together. Repeat with the remaining 18 rectangles.
Sprinkle tops with a generous pinch coarse salt and turbinado sugar.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until edges start to turn light golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on tray and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

[i]pastry crust adapted from Whole Grains Every Day Every Way[/i]