Un-Spicy White Bean and Tomato Soup

I was originally going to make this on Thursday night, but we ended up going out for a not-so-spectacular dinner instead.
I made the soup Friday instead, for 7 people, so I had to stop at the store and get more ingredients. This was pretty simple, and now that I know how to make it, it makes a good weeknight dinner. Though it was a bit light since I originally only portioned half of grilled cheese sandwiches.

White Bean and Tomato Soup
Serves 8

28 ounces vegetable broth, divided
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 (15-oz) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium poblano chile, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1 pint grape tomatoes
10 ounces small vine tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more to garnish
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
5 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine 2 cups stock, chili powder, cumin, and beans in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Combine remaining broth, poblano, and onion in a food processor; pulse until vegetables are chopped. Add onion mixture to pan.

Add tomatoes and cilantro to food processor, and process until coarsely chopped. Add tomato mixture to pan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; stir in juice, olive oil, and salt. Garnish with cilantro.

For a meal, I served them with grilled cheddar and provolone cheese and spinach sandwiches that Tiff helped by making. I just failed to make enough.

Raspberry Scones

I came across a recipe for Rasperry Scones in September's issue of Food And Wine, and since I've been wanting to make scones, and this recipe sounded simple,and different, I thought I would give it a try. They were yummiest straight from the oven.

I want to go to BabyCakesNYC next time I'm in New York City, whenever that may be.

An Uncle Larry Meal

As usual, it was delicious.

Peach Chicken Salad with Mint Vinaigrette

There was leftover grilled chicken in the house, and Dad wanted me to find a way to incorporate it into dinner.
So my plan was some form of chicken salad. But I wanted to try something new. My search led me here, to a salad that sounded perfect for summer.
Of course, being me, I didn't walk over to the fruit bowl until it was time for me to wash the fruit and dice it. It turned out that they weren't nectarines at all, so that's how the salad came to be different. From the original recipe that is.

Peach Chicken Salad with Mint Vinaigrette
Serves 5

Dressing:
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup clear balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad:
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 cup chopped seeded cucumber
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons minced red onion
3 peaches, chopped
5 boston lettuce leaves

To make the dressing: place mint and sugar in a food processor; process until finely chopped, scraping sides of bowl. Add vinegar, juice, salt, and pepper, and process 30 seconds to combine.

To prepare salad: combine chicken, cucumber, pine nuts, onion, and peaches in a medium bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss well to coat. Place 1 lettuce leaf on each of 5 plates; top each serving with 3/4 cup salad.

Serve with toast or crackers.

Beet Salad

Dad had roasted some beets, and so he wanted me to do something with them.

We ended up having some torn Boston lettuce leaves topped with beets, red wine vinegar, and orange segments.
We did have some other recreated leftovers later, but they didn't turn out how I wanted them to.

More Pea Salad Cups

I made the pea salad cups to take to a party.
They seemed to be well-received.

Baqali Polow

I made Baqali Polow using my dried fava beans (I think.)
I ended up using about 2 1/2 cups though once they were revived.

Chicken and Zucchini Salad

Dad brought home a large supply of food on Tuesday night. They're nice to have in the house when we're really busy, but right now I have time to cook, and only 12 more days until school starts, so I don't mind.

But I also don't want to throw it all out. So I found a recipe I could use the Lemon Chicken in. Because it took my so long to wrestle the jicama for the appetizer, dinner wasn't ready when Dad came home, and he decided that the zucchini would be better cooked and took over that, which ruined my flow.

But it was a delicious salad, one which I will try again sometime - with my raw marinated zucchini.

Wednesday Lunch

I felt like making a plated lunch for me and my grandparents. I used a Pantry Selects Trail Mix salad, some Chef's Kitchen Italian Pinwheels (which when putting the container back in the fridge, got my nail caught on it causing the remaining ones to spill all over the floor), and then, for the home-made portion, a Pea Salad cup on each plate.

Dainty Pea Salad Cups

I'm not quite finished with this yet. I'm going to make it again tomorrow and change the dressing, because it was too runny. And I still haven't figured out how many of the little cups it fills yet.


When I was visiting Granma, she took me to Willoughby House Cafe, Tearoom, and Gallery. Along with my sandwich and salad, there was a little cup filled with pea salad. Granma has asked what was in them before so she could try to make them for a party, so I did have some better information than my eyes, mouth, and memory. I set out today to recreate something similar to them.

Pea Salad in Cups
Makes ?.


For Pea Salad:
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup finely chopped celery (about two stalks)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (not fancy or finely shredded)

For Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried dill, crushed with fingers
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika

? wonton wrappers or round pasta wraps

Make dressing:
Whisk together all ingredients. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
Makes approximately 1/2 cup.

Make cups:
Preheat oven to 325.
Place wrappers in a regular muffin pan. The wrappers should be a bit bunched up to form sides. Keep an eye on them the first couple of minutes in oven to make sure that the sides don't collapse.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
Remove and cool.

While baking cups, prepare salad:
Combine thawed peas, chopped celery, and cheese in a bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup of dressing.

Note: Ranch Dressing can be used as a quicker and easier dressing.