Susannah, My First Born Is Yours

Yup, these muffins are that good.

Sift* 2 C flours (Susannah sometimes does a 1/2 C of almond meal, but I kept it simple with AP)
1 t b. soda
1/2 t salt

Set aside. In a bigger bowl,

Cream 1/2 C butter
1 C sugar

Add 2 eggs
2 mashed bananas**

In a third bowl combine 1/3 C milk with 1 t lemon juice (or use 1/3 C sour cream instead)

Alternate between the milk/sour cream and the dry ingredients to mix into the creamed ingredients until just combined. Do NOT overmix. Seriously. You'll break my heart. Don't do it.

Divide batter evenly into a greased muffin tin, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (check with toothpick)--turn at 12 minutes, check at 20 minutes--I don't trust ovens!

* I never sift. I know, that's bad. On days when I'm feeling particularly guilty about it I stir the flour around with a fork, like I'm beating eggs. Whatever gets you through the day, right?

**As mentioned in the main post, I heat the bananas in the oven on low until they are warmed through. Best to use the most overripe bananas you can find--start getting in the habit of putting browned ones in your freezer. Really, this recipe is worth it.

Tomato Tortilla Soup

from Moosewood's Simple Suppers:

3 C diced onions
2 t olive oil
2 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 quart vegetable broth
1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 t minced canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1.5 C crumbled corn tortilla chips

In a soup pot, cook onions over medium heat for 5 minutes (til soft). Add cumin and oregano, stir for a minute. Add broth, tomatoes, and chipotles then cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Here they tell you to pulverize chips in the blender, and blend a portion of the soup. Meh, skip all that. Just crush the tortilla chips by hand into the soup pot. Or, for a finer crush, put them on a plate and crush with the bottom of a measuring cup.

About 6 servings, 30 minutes

Kale Soup Numero Uno

1/2 C olive oil
3 large onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
10 C veggie stock
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, or 2 C fresh, chopped tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1.5 C freshly cooked beans
1 pound kale, leaves torn from stems and finely chopped (about 10 C of leaves)
3 medium red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
2 t sweet paprika
Dash cayenne pepper
1 t salt
Liberal seasoning with freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic, saute until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Raise the heat to high, stir in all remaining ingredients, and bring souup to a boil. Lower the heat to achieve a lively simmer and cook about 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened. Discard the bay leaves. Remove about 2 cups of soup and puree in a blender or food processor. Return it to the soup and stir to blend. This soup's flavor will intensity with time, so don't hesitate to make it a few days in advance.

Italian Paysanne Soup

1/4 C white wine
1 C finely chopped onions
1 C finely diced celery or celeriac (or 3 T cutting celery, chopped)
1 C finely diced carrots
1.5 C peeled and diced potatoes
1.5 C peeled and diced parsnips (i substituted kohlrabi)
8 C veggie stock
1/2 t thyme
2 t garlic, crushed (i'd buff this waaay up)
2 C shopped kale
1 T soy sauce
1-2 C grain (i used quinoa)--optional

Combine wine through carrots, cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes. Stir in potatoes through garlic and the soy sauce, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes (until potatoes are not quite tender). Add greens, cook 10-15 minutes longer. Unsure about the amount of liquid, I threw in some leftover quinoa we had in the fridge, but it didn't magically turn this into a stew, it's a soup.

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Groundnut Stew

Olive oil
1 medium onion, choped
1-2 t salt
1/2 t black peper
red pepper to taste
2-3 tomatoes cut up
2-3 T tomato puree
1/2 C smooth peanut butter
1/2 to 1 C water (or stock), more if needed
1 bay leaf

In oil, add onions, fry until slightly brown. Add salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, and some water, the red pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Then add peanut butter and more water, stirring water in slowly to achieve a creamy consistency. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add additional spices or water as necessary.

Emma's Squash Soup(s)

Cut open 5-6 small squash (one full cookie sheet's worth--the photos are from a double batch) and bake in the oven, halves down in a bit of water on a cookie sheet until you can easily poke through skin with a fork (35 minutes?). Wash, chop and boil about 8 potatoes. If they're thick-skinned, consider peeling (though Emma would frown at that choice). Saute 1-2 leeks in a healthy pour of olive oil. After a minute or two add 4-5 cloves of garlic. Throw in a carrot or two or three, cut into slices. Add spices: probably a bay leaf or two, maybe some thyme, sage if you're feeling crazy, cutting celery, parsley. Salt and pepper. Add water (start with 6 cups, add as needed), bring to a simmer. Or I guess you could pour the potato water right into the pot. Either way. Add potatoes. When squash is ready, scoop out flesh and add to pot. Blend the entire batch, return to pot, and simmer again to warm and reduce if necessary.

I know it's unhelpful that the spices don't have amounts next to them, but really, this soup is all about letting the leek and squash flavors do most of the work. Throw in any fresh herbs you have around, and if that's nothing than try salt and pepper first and go from there.

Honey Time

The bustle of the honey house

A de-capping machine. You drop the frame in and it slices the wax (mostly) off of both sides.

Joy finishing the decapping, Emma working the machine.

Shawn and April decapping

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