Jam Tart Variation

Happy Valentine's Day, if you celebrate it.  I don't, but it's a great excuse to bake something yummy.  I began by following THIS recipe, but the result was buttery powder that wouldn't hold together.  I added a quarter of a cup of milk a tablespoon at a time until the dough could hold together.  I also left off the extra sugar.  They made great dunking cookies.

Cold Weather Pie

Nothing like pot pie during weather like this.  Great way to use up leftovers and easy to make vegan if you're not a fan of dairy.  I'm too lazy to put it in separate "pots", so I make one big pie.  Pretty simple to make, two main parts: your filling and your crust.   (If you are using tofu for a vegetable pie, this is a great recipe to use defrosted tofu for the chewier texture.)  This recipe makes enough filling for two 9" pies.  I usually make one pie, then throw the leftover filling in the freezer to use another time or serve over rice.

PIE FILLING

6 Tablespoons butter

6 Tablespoons flour

2 cups broth

1 cup heavy cream OR milk/milk substitute for lower fat

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Salt to taste

3 teaspoons crushed dried herbs like thyme or savory (I used Herbes de Provence)

4 cups bite size chunks of cooked chicken OR tofu

12 small pearl onions OR 1 large white onion cut into chunks

2 1/4 cups cooked vegetables (I used celery, peas, and carrots)

-Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat.  When it's bubbly, add the flour, stir to combine, and let it bubble for 2 minutes.  This is going to be the gravy.

-Add the broth and cream slowly, stirring constantly.  Then stir in the spices and let it simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it thickens.

-Put the chicken/tofu and vegetables into a large mixing bowl and add the gravy.  Stir to coat everything.  And your filling is ready to go.

SIMPLE 9" TOP AND BOTTOM PIE CRUST

2 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup shortening (I used Earth Balance vegan margarine)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6-7 tablespoons cold water

1. Pie dough keeps in the fridge for several days, so this part can be made ahead of time.  Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Cut in the shortening (I use my hands because pastry blenders drive me crazy).  Combine until the mixture is grainy: it doesn't have to be perfect.

2. Add the water a Tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork until the pastry holds together when you press it into a ball.  Now preheat the oven to 425 degrees and get out your rolling pin.

3. The bottom crust of the pie needs to be a little bigger than the top, you'll need to use roughly 2/3 of the dough for the bottom piece.  Roll it out on a floured surface, not too thin, so that it overlaps your pie tin by around an inch.

4. Gently press the dough to the sides of the pie tin.  Take a fork and poke a few holes in the raw dough, it will bake better this way.

5. Now add about 2 cups of filling to the pie.

6. Roll out the last bunch of pie dough for the top crust.  It's okay if it tears while you're putting it on top of the pie, it will still bake up fine.  Take your fork and press the top and bottom crust together at the edge of the pie pan.  You might need to trim some of it off to even up the edges.  As you press the dough together with the fork, it should look like this:

7. Be sure to poke some more holes on the top crust to let steam escape.  Throw it in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until it's as golden as you like it.  Very filling and good served hot or cold!

Honey Thyme Sauce

I love fresh herbs and discovering recipes that use them.  This is simple and wonderful on everything;  pan fried chicken or tofu, vegetables, rice, sandwiches, TOAST.  I'm addicted.  If you don't have any fresh thyme you can use dried, but up the amount to 2 teaspoons and add it at the same time as the onions so it gets a chance to saute and bring out the flavor!

Honey Thyme Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 c. finely diced green onions
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar OR 1/2 c. of water with the juice of one small lemon
1 c. broth
1/3 c. honey
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast, optional

Directions:

- Melt the butter in a saucepan.  If you're using dairy butter, it burns easily so keep an eye on it.  When the butter starts to bubble, toss in the onions and saute about 3 minutes.
- Add the thyme and stir.
- Turn the heat high and add the vinegar.  Cook until reduced by around half, about 15 minutes.
- Now reduce the heat to medium, and add the broth and honey.  Simmer for another 15 minutes until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from the heat, whisk in the mustard, and your sauce is done.  Delish!

Quinoa Stuffed Squash

This recipe is really delicious, super filling and perfect for a vegetarian main course.  Quinoa (KEEN-wah) is chock full of protein and all the flavors and textures are sublime.  If you have no imagination and don't enjoy eating out of the gourd, serve the squash separately.  It isn't much to look at, but trust me, it's tasty.

Ingredients:

2 acorn OR 2 butternut squash

margarine

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water OR vegetable broth

1/4 cup minced onion (half a medium onion)

1/4 cup chopped celery, optional

2 tbsp. minced fresh OR 1 tsp. dried parsley

1/4 cup raisins OR cranberries

1/4 cup chopped pecans OR pinenuts

1-2 tbsp. balsamic OR apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

sea salt and black pepper to taste

To make:

-First you need to get the squash baking.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds into a small bowl.  Poke 2-3 holes through each squash half and set them face down in an oven proof pan with about half an inch of water in it.  Cover it with tinfoil, pop it in the oven, and set the timer for 25 minutes.  If you like roasted squash seeds = rinse them off, stir them around with a tablespoon of oil and some salt and pepper, spread out in a pan, and bake for 10-15 minutes.

-Get your water or broth boiling and chop the onion while you're waiting on it.  When the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium, stir in the quinoa and chopped onion and celery, cover, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  When done, the liquid should be absorbed and the quinoa cooked.  Set the pan off the heat, add the remaining ingredients, and stir together.

-Listen for your timer: when the squash is done, you should be able to easily pierce it with a fork.  Take it from the oven and uncover, turn the squash right side up, and butter it like a piece of toast.  Fill each squash half with quinoa mixture and serve with a dash of poultry seasoning on top.  If you time it right, the squash and the quinoa should be done within minutes of each other; if not pop them back in the oven for a few minutes, serve warm.  (And don't forget to recycle or reuse your aluminum foil!)  So so good!

Breckenridge Biscuits

I just can't stop with the comfort food.  This time, it's buttermilk biscuits.  I came across Pie in the Sky at the library and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for high altitude baking recipes.  (Since I'm 10 minutes outside the Mile High City, I used the 5,000 ft. chart. ) This was the first batch of biscuits I've made here that were edible and not like hockey pucks!  Thank you, author Susan G. Purdy!  I recommend baking the biscuits close together, it seems to help them rise more.  And a nifty tip: if you don't happen to have buttermilk on hand, use cow's milk/soy milk/ or almond milk and just add a tablespoon of vinegar.  Voila!

Baked chicken and biscuits, with green beans and gravy for the meat eater.

Baked tofu, biscuits, meatless gravy and beans, por moi.