Mom’s Russian Cabbage Soup

 

Mom's "Russian" Cabbage Soup 

Sauté 2 chopped onions in lard (or other good fat) til almost glassy.

Add a stalk of chopped celery, cook for 2 minutes.

Add 7-10 cloves chopped garlic, stir 1 minute.  Season well with pepper, easy on salt.

Add 2 chopped carrots, and roughly chopped cabbage and stir to ensure it is coated in the fat.

Add chicken stock (or just water) and bring to a boil.  I just add enough liquids to cover the cabbage.  For an easy boost of flavour, I stir in a heaping teaspoon of Better than Boullion (chicken) and it turns out great!

Finally, a 2-4 sliced SMOKED German sausages, and simmer until the smokiness from the sausages can be smelled, and the cabbage still has some bite (but definitely not mushy).  Taste to season, if necessary.  

The key to this soup is to use the BEST quality sausages... they make ALL the difference! 

MJ

Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

This soup is essentially pure, whole, healthy, comfort food, and involves very little hands on work.  I have always loved to put a pot on and let it simmer all day on the stove, but I've been playing with my Instant Pot and the meat comes out so perfectly and consistently tender in very little time, it's becoming my new favourite way to make delectable soups and stews such as this one.

Ingredients:

Broth (recipe below - made with beef shank bones, ACV, and veggie scraps)

Stewing beef chunks

Onions

Garlic

Carrots

Can of dark ale (optional) - I used Waterloo Dark, but Guinness works well, too

Bay leaf

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pot barley

Parsley to finish

If I'm well prepared, I first make a simple broth.  I use this for many things, like drinking (for gut health), making simple sauces / deglazing a pan, or cooking mashed potatoes or rice or barley... or I use it as a clean and pure ingredient in this soup. If I'm pressed for time, I use a CLEAN purchased broth.

To make the bone broth:

In the instant pot with the wire rack, place some beef shank bones, salt and peppercorns (to taste), a whole onion (with the skin) cut in two, and any mix of frozen parsley and veggie tops and scrapings.  I add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, then cover well with water.  I like to make about 10 cups.  

Seal and set at 60 minutes on manual / high pressure.  Let it release naturally.  

Remove bones and freeze for a second use another time.  I always scoop out the marrow and enjoy it right away! Sieve and discard veggies. Use and store or freeze in glass jars, or as desired.

To make the beef and barley soup:

In the instant pot, use about 6-8 cups of broth, 1 large can of dark ale, two pounds of well seasoned stewing beef chunks, 2 medium chopped onions, 2-4 chopped carrots, and a bay leaf. 

Seal and set at 40 minutes on manual / high pressure.  Let it release naturally.

I cooked the pot barley in a pot on the stove this first time, because I hadn't cooked with it before.  I followed the instructions on the bag fairly closely, using 3 cups of bone broth, just under a cup of barley, salt and pepper, and a bay leaf.  It simmered (covered) about an hour and I simply added it to the soup once it was done.  

Next time, I will shorten the cook time in the IP by about 15 minutes and will simply add it in to finish with the soup.  I love the hands off nature of soup making in the instant pot... I don't go too far when I'm making it, because I don't like to leave things on when I'm out, so it's no trouble to set it and forget it, and then come back to it to add the finishing touches (like the pot barley).

This soup is perfect on a cold day, and it's simply delicious with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Let me know if you like this one... there'll be more soups to come.

Enjoy!

Lebkuchen

Mom's Lebkuchen

Christmas isn't Christmas without this baked treat.  This is mom's doubled recipe, which she kindly tweaked for me, to make it taste like the original recipe, but without the nuts or nutmeg (I'm allergic). I've taken this recipe on for the last several years, and tweaked it a bit myself, by doubling the spices for extra intense flavour, and "lemonizing" the icing part... 
the bulk of it is ALL MOM'S GENIUSNESS.

In a very large bowl, hand mix the following and let rest overnight:

5 cups flour

2  1/3 cups sugar

½ cup molasses

1 cup liquid honey

½ tsp ground anise

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground cloves

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground mace

2 tsp grated lemon peel

4 eggs

1 cup (or a whole small container) of candied mixed citrus peel (in the baking section, top shelf)

Optional: 

1 cup raisins, 1 cup slivered almonds  (we prefer ours just plain)

Next morning, add:

1 cup flour

1 ½ tsp baking ammonia (or 10 grams)

(this can be bought in specialty stores, like Vincenzos or even Central)

Press dough into a cookie sheet (about 1 ½ cm thick) and bake @ 350 F for 15-20 minutes.  I like it lumpy, lol.  Do NOT overbake!   Ice when it’s just out of the oven, slightly cooled (and next batch is in the oven) with:   1 ½ cups icing sugar, 1 ½ tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp lemon extract, and enough hot water to get a nice spreadable consistency.   I like my glaze extra lemony, so I eyeball it and don't use any water, only lemon juice and extra extract. 

Enjoy!!!

Hot Cross Buns in loaf form

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns,

Hot cross buns,

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot cross buns.

Yes, the song has become a loaf in my house.  I learned how to make these buns a year or two ago, thanks to the recipe found on Laura in the Kitchen... oh, they're so so so so good. 

Anyway, our toaster oven has been replaced by a regular toaster, so toasting and reheating those icing crossed buns is no longer an option.  Enter, the hot cross bun / loaf.

Here's how to make it:

Combine 1 cup milk, slightly warmed, with

2 1/4 tsp dried baking yeast and a spoonful of sugar

Proof 5 min, or until bloomed

Melt 1/4 cup of butter and let it cool
Bring 2 eggs to room temp, I usually just run them under some warm water for a minute

In a big bowl, mix 3 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
zest of an orange or lemon or both

Add in the cooled butter and two eggs
Also, add in a generous 1/2 cup of raisins and a small container of candied citrus peel

Stir with a wooden spoon only until a sticky dough forms and the raisins / peel are well distributed, for the most tender result.

Cover and let rise slowly in a warm place, until doubled in size
This is what it looks like about 15 minutes into the rising process

Do enjoy!!

After an hour or so, when the dough is doubled and fluffy, cut it in half, and press gently into two loaf pans lined with parchment paper.

Let rise a second time, for about 45 minutes, until each loaf is domed and ready to bake.  Brush with butter or an egg, if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees F, for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden and baked all the way through.
Let cool on a wire rack before you dig in!



Umm, yes, I confess, those are my teeth marks, eep!  I already started eating the first slice before realizing I needed to snap a picture or two... here's one with some lovely melting action.



Do enjoy!





Special thanks to #mrsvitale

My best Gulasch ever

So... this traditional Gulaschsuppe... it's hearty and simple and really really really tasty.  
Here is a quick step by step of the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pounds stewing beef
1 beef shank (the bone and surrounding meat)
equivalent amount of roughly chopped onions
about 1/4 cup paprika (I used a mix of regular and authentic Hungarian paprika, purchased at our local European deli)
salt and pepper (to taste, each part of the dish)
flour for dusting (entirely optional, gives a slightly thicker consistency in the end)
1 or 2 carrots, chopped 
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional... I usually leave it out)
potatoes (optional)

Here's how to make it:

Take about 2 pounds of stewing beef and a beef shank bone, season well with salt and pepper.  Dust with flour and brown thoroughly in a bit of oil, in small batches, on medium high heat. 

Note:  the more colour you achieve in this step, the better the flavour.  Do NOT crowd the pan or hurry this process, or you'll end up steaming the meat and it will turn an unappetizing grey.

For this Gulaschsuppe, I got out my awesome new Instant Pot and I used the handy saute feature for this important browning step.  I also used a big deep frying pan to help things go faster, but you can do it all in the IP if you like.  I saved the browned meat batches in a bowl until I was finished with this first step.

Alternatively, if using the slow cooker for a long low / slow simmer, you should brown the meat in a frying pan first, and dump each batch into the crock as you go.  

While the small batches of meat and the shank are browning, chop a whole bunch of onions as finely or roughly as you like... about the same amount of meat as raw onion works best.  Do use a bit of oil and butter or ghee to help deglaze the pan, and saute the onions very well, until they are nice and soft and glassy, and the raw onion taste is well cooked out of them.  A little extra brown colour doesn't hurt here, either.  

Brown colour equals deeper flavour.

Now sprinkle the onions with a generous amount of paprika, and season again with salt and pepper.  Let the onions and the paprika toast a bit, until you get that fabulous smell wafting all over your home.  Scrape it all into your slow cooker or instant pot.  Rinse your frying pan and get all the browned bits added in as well.  Then add the meat, and enough water to just cover the meat and onions.  Add your bite sized bits of carrots and potatoes... and simmer until super tender.

For the slow cooker, cook it low and slow for as many hours as you can.  I have made the mistake of hurrying the onion sauteeing step, and the Gulasch ended up with a strong, and unappetizingly bitter, raw onion flavour in the end, even though the meat was tender.  Don't make that same mistake!

For this batch in the instant pot, I set it to stew for 20 minutes, with a natural release.  I must say, this Gulasch was the richest, most tender, and overall best tasting Gulaschsuppe I have ever made.

I am attributing a few things to this success.  

First, I took my time browning the meat and the onions to mouthwatering, and well seasoned perfection.

Second, I used a big beef shank... bones always make for better flavour in soups and stews, and this extra ingredient was definitely worth adding.

Finally, the instant pot tenderized the stewing meat so well, that it was super moist and fork tender in only 20 minutes of pressure cooking time.  Yes, it takes time to bring it up to pressure, and to release it afterward... but I just set it, and forget it, when I cook with my ipot.  There's no stirring or worrying about it burning while I'm doing other things. 

Anyway, it was delectable.  I do hope you'll try making it.  

I know I'll be making it again... and I will try to add some pictures of the process next time!

Consider adding some homemade dumplings (aka knockerl) ... you can get my recipe those here:  http://tastethelovebymj.blogspot.ca/search/label/Soup%21

Please let me know if you decide to try it!  

More Rhubarb Love

Doesn't this pie look goooood? 

Our love of all things rhubarb continues.  This is a rhubarb pie I made that spontaneously became a hybrid of pie and rhubarb crisp, simply because I didn't have enough rhubarb to mound it all up as I usually do.  Hubby wanted pie, so this is what happened. It was.... AH-MAZING!!!!!!

This was my sad attempt at making a lattice pie with a frozen "cheater crust" from the grocery store, lol.  Above it (on the right) was the gluten free version I made at the same time with our niece, Rachel.  Her crust was a simple gluten free shortbread cookie crust pressed together with butter, the filling was just the fruit with some sugar / cinnamon / cornstarch, and the topped was more cookie crumbles.  Obviously, my focus was on getting hers right.  Both tasted delicious!!

Speaking of "cheater crusts" ... I bake a mean butter tart using a similar type of (grocery story frozen) shells above, as I simply don't have the patience most days to make mini pastry shells from scratch.  This time, I baked some tarts filled with rhubarb (from our own garden!) and strawberries / blueberries... boy, they were yummy!

Finally, this is the strawberry rhubarb pie I made with our nephew Matthew last night.  Ummmm, oh man, strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven.  Have I mentioned how happy we are that the rhubarb season has lasted so long this year?  

I'm going to have to freeze some, for when we need a lift from the wintertime blahs.

Aha.  You are seeing this picture correctly.  These two adorable kitties are ours.  We got them on June 4th and they have totally taken over our lives... in the very bestest and cuddliest and craziest of ways.  They deserve a post of their very own... it will be coming soon... they are very funny and photogenic at the same time.  Yup.  They bring such joy.

In the meantime, I will leave you with one more picture of our last rhubarb dessert.  Doesn't it look great on top of my Oma's crocheted table runner?  Love.  Love.  Love.

As always, I am happy to share recipes, just ask how I make 'em.

Rhubarb Love

This blogpost was originally published in 2016...

I tweaked and updated it with more recent pictures (June 23, 2020)

It's rhubarb season again.  Rhubarb is my husband's favourite fruit.  He likes it stewed, in cakes, in pies, in squares... you name it, he likes it.

Fortunately, my mom has a really terrific recipe for the simplest, stir it into one bowl recipe.  It's called "Rhubarb Stir Cake" ... I think we originally got it from my sister's MIL Judy, but I have been making it for G for YEARS.  Suffice it to say, this is the most easy, delicious recipe... below is how I have tweaked it to my taste over the years.  

It is THAT GOOD, let me tell you.

In a bowl, cream (that means just stir) 1/4 cup very soft butter and 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until combined.  I add 1/4 cup of water to this mixture, because I usually find the dough a bit dry, and it's easier to incorporate into the batter at this point.  Add in a single egg, a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, and a generous Tbsp of vanilla and glotsch it around.

On top of the wet ingredients, measure and roughly mix in 2 1/3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. It will be very dry at this point.

Add 1 cup of sour cream and 4 generous cups of chopped fresh (or even frozen) rhubarb.  Again, stir it up with a spatula to combine it.

See how the dough comes together after awhile?

Press it into a 9x13" pan.  No grease necessary.

Now comes the topping... I usually add more rhubarb and another kind of fruit, like strawberries or raspberries to the top of the cake, whatever is seasonal or in the freezer.  

Today, I loaded it up with a generous number of frozen blueberries, because I forgot to reserve some of the rhubarb for it.  Presto change-o... that’s the beauty of this recipe.  

In fact, after having made this over and over again, I have found I can get REALLY lazy, not mix the rhubarb in, and press the thick batter into the pan and THEN top it with the rhubarb (or any mixture of fresh or frozen fruit) and then finish it with the simple topping, like this:

 

The original recipe also calls for a certain (1/3 cup?!) amount of white sugar and (measly teaspoon) cinnamon to be sprinkled on top of the cake, but I never measure it.  I just sprinkle away generously until it looks good.  I told you this is an easy peasy recipe... almost anything goes!  Ain't it purdy?

 

Or this:

The takeaway message:  this recipe is very forgiving and you can definitely play around with it.  Once I didn't have any sour cream AT ALL... so I used a combination of vanilla yogurt and (I'm not kidding!) some mayonaise and a little water to get the "one cup of sour cream" and, aha... I really did.  

And it turned out perfectly.

There's no picture of this cake fresh from the oven, no... the hubs got into it before I was able to snap a proper photo of it... ha!

This perfect little slice goes so well with a cup of coffee or tea... for breakfast, for a snack, for a church potluck, or for a surprise little treat for my dad and mom.  

Yes, this rhubarb cake is quintessentially perfect.

I suspect I'll be making more rhubarb recipes in the next few weeks, before the season is over for another year.  How do you like your rhubarb?  

Let me know!

Whole 30 - my current meal obsession

Shepherd's Pie - who doesn't just love it?  It's comfort food at its best... it's also economical, and if made ahead, it's super convenient, as it makes a huge amount and you can just dig into it anytime.

I have recently revamped my traditional shepherd's pie because I'm on the whole 30.  We've been eating a ton of roasted / baked / boiled potatoes with lemon, and I didn't want to make the "essential" top layer of mashed potatoes because I couldn't fill it with whatever milk / cream / butter / sour cream / cream cheese or any of that usual deliciousness.

Instead, I popped a whole acorn squash into the microwave... scooped it out, and now we have our topping on the side of our shepherd's pie.  And is it ever good!!!

I say that I am obsessed because I've been ever so sick with the flu and laryngitis this week.  I figured that the W30 would be taking a back seat to comfort foods like toast and tea with honey... but somehow I have managed to stay on track, since I had most of my meats prepped on Sunday.  I just stayed the course, and surprisingly, it worked!  This dish helped me through several small suppers this week with a minimum of fuss.

My appetite was definitely affected, so I ate much less, but I stuck to my three meals... they were just a little simpler and smaller than usual.  And who knew that raw, sliced garlic could be a condiment on the side of a plate of plain chicken or an egg or sausage with a few strawberries or a banana?

Try making shepherd's pie your usual way (leave out the dusting of flour to thicken your gravy) and cook an acorn squash (or other veg you like) with a little clarified butter and s+p on the side.  It's a twist that will surprise you in the most pleasant of ways.

Oxtail Soup with Knockerl (homemade dumplings)

So, this has ALWAYS been my favourite soup.  

I was at the St Jacob's Farmers Market with my mom and dad one Saturday this winter.  The butcher from Charles Best Quality Meats had some oxtails for sale at his stand, and he held one up for us to see... just like another butcher did a long time ago... for my sister Carla, in Germany, many many years ago (now that's a really funny story).  But then it got me craving a bowl of hearty oxtail soup, and though I didn't purchase my bones from Charles Best that day, I did get some about a week later.  I was determined to document how one makes this incredibly rich tasting and deeply satisfying soup.

 I bought two packages of bones, one with two large, meaty bone joints, and one with three smaller ones for a cost of about $9.00, for both packages of oxtails.

The key to making this soup taste amazing, is to brown the bones until they are a deep brown colour.  Dredge the bones in flour and season them generously with salt and pepper.  Heat a little oil in a pan.  Brown and turn, brown and turn, and then brown and turn them some more.  The deeper the colour, the deeper the flavour.  I chopped an equal amount of onions as bones as they were browning.  Browning the onions until they are a nice caramel brown means great onion flavour as well.  Just remember, you cannot hurry this part of the process, it takes TIME to do the browning properly, for the best tasting results. 

You see in this picture, I added the onions to the pan as the oxtail bones continued to brown, as they take almost as much time to brown as the bones.

THIS is the deep dark brown colour I was waiting for!

Now, this next step is something my mother never did.  I use my crock pot to cook this beautiful dish to tender perfection.  I added the oxtail bones to the onions, a couple stalks of chopped celery, and enough water to cover it all.  

I tossed in two chopped carrots, and then let it all simmer overnight and for a full day of work.

This is what it looked like after about 12 hours of cooking on low.  I put it in the fridge to chill, and to possibly scoop any excess oil off the top when it congealed... but it was actually very lean, so I didn't have to do that.

I (easily) pulled and shredded the meat off those now super tender bones...

... and then I reheated the whole crockpot of love on the stovetop, adding some freshly chopped parsley for a most special dinner.

But I simply had to complete the dish with some  homemade dumplings, or Knockerl, as we call them.  Put a pot of water on to boil, and sprinkle a generous amount of salt into the water.

Make the Knockerl simply by stirring 3/4 cup flour with 2 eggs, a generous dash of salt, and just enough milk to bring it together into a fairly thick batter.

Scoop half a spoonful and drop or scrape each little dumpling into the boiling water.  Don't worry about perfection... once they puff up, they turn into homemade noodle / dumplings of utter YUMMINESS!!!

You'll see them start to pop up to the surface of the water as they cook.

It only takes a minute or two.

When they're floating and cooked through (be sure to taste them), scoop them out of the water and combine them with the savoury oxtail soup.

Oh man, look at that rich colour!  THIS amazingly silky wonder is why oxtail soup is my favourite soup of all time, even since I was a little kid.

Is it a soup or is it a stew?  No matter what you call it, it simply doesn't get any better than this.  

That is the truth.

What is your favourite soup?  Do you have any recipe requests?  Feel free to comment!