leek, chard and turkey soup

i had not been out to the garden for about two weeks. rainy weather and other things to do i guess. i was pleasantly surprised when i went out this past monday. the late plantings of lettuce, arugula, tatsoi and cilantro were flourishing in the damp, cool weather. the chard that i planted in the beginning of june was still beautiful with its yellow, orange and red spines. the parsley was abundant.

i had about 3 quarts of turkey stock from cooking down a meaty turkey carcass. my neighbor and friend betsy gave me three huge leeks from here garden...what to make?  how about some turkey, leek, chard soup!

soup is easy to make. no measurements needed. most important is the stock. 'you have to put good in to get it out'. the bones for stock must be meaty. watery, weak stock just does not yield good soup

                                              3 large leeks that have been cleaned and sliced.

                                            a very large bunch of chard that has been chopped.

place the leeks and chard in with the stock pot with the broth and the turkey. i always chop the meat that has been cooked for the broth. it is a great way to find any little bones that you might have missed when the carcass was picked.bring to a simmer and add 3 sliced carrots...always great for color.

after about 20 minutes, bring the soup to a rolling boil and add some noodles or rice and a cup or so of chopped parsley. i added a cup and a half of small egg bows. i let them boil about 5 minutes stirring frequently and then turned off the heat.

the soup was an experiment and it was very tasty. it was interesting to see the colored stems of the chard change the color of the stock to a light yellow.

                                  enjoy!

oatmeal cookies with 'lots of goodies'

i rarely blog about baking because it is not my favorite... too restricting! i always feel like i am back in chemistry lab. i do know that if you follow the chemistry of baking that you can add all kinds of extras as long as you measure all the important stuff. i am not a chocolate chip cookie fan, especially the soft ones. i like my cookies to be either chewy or crunchy. this is my #1 choice. the nice thing about it is if you do not like one of the extras or goodies as i call them, you can always double up on the ones you like.

oatmeal cookies with raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut

1/2 pound softened butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2ggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

dry ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup pastry flour
1 teaspoon each of salt, baking powder and baking soda

the goodies
2 cups oats
1 cup raisins
1 heaping cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup coconut

cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. add the eggs,milk and vanilla

sift the dry ingredients and stir into the sugar and butter mixture.

fold in the oats and other 'stuff'.

preheat oven to 350 degrees

i use 2 soup spoons for shaping these cookies. try to shape them into balls as you put them on the cookie sheet and make sure they are at least 2 1/2 inches apart...they spread. they are about 3 inches across after they are baked. the recipe makes 3 times the amount in the picture (family got the rest).

bake for 8-15 minutes depending on the size and your oven. watch the first batch carefully and do not over bake. when they are light brown on the edges, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing on the cooling rack,newspaper or whatever you use to cool your cookies. they will harden when they are cool.

enjoy!

dilled green potatoes

this recipe is most certainly tried and true. 48+ years ago my hubby and i finished school, got married 2 weeks later and a month after that he was in the air force and we landed in Duluth, Minnesota for 2 wonderful years. i was a very inexperienced cook and this is one of the first recipes that one of the other wives shared. it is a great side dish for grilled or roasted meats. the best part is that it can be made a day ahead and refrigerated

idaho potatoes, fresh chives, frozen chopped spinach, Jerusalem artichoke flowers

ingredients 6 large potatoes, peeled and cooked
3/4 -1 cup of light cream
1/4 pound butter, softened
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons chopped chives
1 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 package thawed and drained chopped spinach ( i squeeze it)


thawed and drained spinach and chopped chives

mash the potatoes with the butter and cream until they are fluffy.  add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

 place the mixture in a greased casserole( 1 1/2 quart )and either refrigerate or place in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

                                                                   serve and ENJOY!

note: i have made this recipe without the dill when i did not think it went with the rest of the meal...it was still good!