Soups for Spring

Soup is a wonderful food on a cloudy, snowy day in winter, but it can be an equally welcome choice when the sun is shining on an early spring day. As part of my experiment to see how many good meals I could get from one four pound chicken, I had some wonderfully concentrated broth (stock) to work with. Add in some showy bright bunches of broccoli on special and this was the ideal time for cream of broccoli soup.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Canola oil
2 c chopped onion
1/2 c sliced celery
1 c peeled and diced potatoes (may use more if a thicker soup is desired)
6 c water
1 c rich chicken broth
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t mixed dried herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, or your own mixture)
Seasoning salt and black pepper to taste
Broccoli stems—I used 11 1/2 oz, about 3 cups chopped
1/2 c flour
1 c water
Approximately 1 1/2 c dry milk powder
Broccoli flowerets—I used 9 1/2 oz, about 4 cups, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In a large soup pot, sauté the onions and celery in the oil until golden brown. Stir in the potatoes and continue simmering for a few minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the broth and 6 cups of water along with the seasonings. When the mixture has returned to a slow boil, add the broccoli stems, cover, and let simmer about 35 to 35 minutes, until the broccoli is very tender.
2. Working in batches, process the soup in a blender or food processor until it is a smooth puree. Return all the soup to the pan.
3. Combine the flour, water, and dry milk powder to make a smooth paste (add a little more water if the mixture is very thick) and stir into the soup. Continue stirring until the soup is thickened.
4. Steam the broccoli flowerets in the microwave for about 3 minutes or until just barely tender.
5. About 15 to 20 minutes prior to serving, stir the flowerets into the soup and taste for seasoning.
This recipe makes about a gallon of soup, enough for at least 8 servings.

Variations: if you prefer, the soup does not need to be pureed. Carrots, squash, or even sweet potatoes may be added in this version—I suggest eliminating them in the pureed version, as they will cause the puree to be a rather unattractive brown.
Two cups of grated cheddar or other sharp cheese may be stirred in with the flowerets.

Serve with crusty garlic bread rounds or plain saltine crackers and baby carrots for color contrast.

(The bread rounds? Just day old rolls that are sliced into rounds, brushed with a mixture of butter, olive oil, and crushed garlic and then toasted in the oven until light golden brown.)


Another spring soup that is especially good if you have a ham bone in the freezer from your Easter ham is Fresh Pea Soup. While I will save the full recipe for another time, you can use any basic split pea soup recipe but substitute frozen peas for the split peas, adding them near the end of the soup making process instead of at the beginning.

Hospitality on a Budget

So our small group from church was going to be meeting for our biweekly shared meal, and I was in the middle of an experiment: I was trying a series of menus to see how many meals I could get from one four pound ($3.21 on sale) chicken. I had used some of the stock to make broccoli soup for eight the night before and now would be serving nine children and six adults.

The following dish was enough for everyone to enjoy with seconds and at least two servings left over for the next day's lunch. And still in the freezer: 12 ounces of boneless breast meat and almost 3 cups of stock.

Budget Chicken Cacciatore

1 to 1 1/2 c chopped onion—one medium
1 c celery, sliced
1/2 large green pepper, diced
Canola oil and/or chicken fat (see NOTE)
2 26 to 28 oz cans or jars spaghetti sauce
1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti
Mixed herb seasoning
Approximately 1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 c coarsely cut cooked, boned chicken
1 to 2 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, including liquid
Seasoning salt, to taste

Sauté the onion, celery, and pepper very slowly, over medium low heat, in a little bit of canola oil or chicken fat.
Meanwhile, break the spaghetti into 3 to 4 inch pieces and cook until just barely tender. Drain, reserving liquid.
Combine the pasta with all remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add some of the reserved pasta water if the mixture is too dry. Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary. Serve with grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and freshly ground black pepper.
NOTE: If you have cooked the chicken ahead of time and chilled or frozen it, there may well be some fat that has hardened on it. Use this instead of oil for browning the vegetables for a little more chicken flavor.


You may have seen some attempts to stretch the meat in main dishes that end up saving very little money because of the cost of other ingredients. However, for only $6.50, I had enough food to serve 15 people with leftovers. Even if we divided the "little people" into half servings, this would have been enough for 12 or so adults for barely 50 cents a serving.

Obviously, prices change continuously and will not be the same in different parts of the country, but the ingredients in this dish all can be budget friendly with only a little effort. For example:

• Watch for grocery store specials on onions and stock up. That hearty country kitchen look in decorator magazines, with a crock or basket of onions piled next to one with oranges or other fruits? That's not just for looks; it's the best way to store these; they will usually last far longer on the counter than in the refrigerator and should never be kept in plastic, where they will quickly get soft and moldy.
• Spaghetti sauce—again, watch for sales and stock up. And don't feel you have to buy the pricey name brands for dishes like this one. Adding a few fresh ingredients like the onions, celery, and pepper here will make the final outcome as tasty with the 79 cent can of sauce as with the $2.98 gourmet brand jar.
• Garbanzos—another stock up item; I used canned beans, but you can save even a little more money by cooking up some dry beans.
• Whole-wheat spaghetti—if your budget is really tight, you can use plain spaghetti, but I have been finding the whole grain varieties on sale almost as often as the other. For this dish, I probably spent 30 cents more for the whole-wheat option, and that seemed worth the price.

For more details, here are my costs to prepare the dish in Minnesota in May 2009:

Onion $.18
Celery $.20
Pepper $.35
Spaghetti sauce $1.58
Spaghetti $.99
Garbanzo beans $1.00
Chicken $2.00 (I am going to assume about 2/3 of the $3.21 chicken went into this dish)
Seasonings $.20 (this is probably far more than the actual cost, but I buy the dried herbs and Worcestershire sauce in large quantities so am going to guess on the high side)
Total: $6.50

But of course, the main dish needs some sides. For this shared meal, I prepared fresh string beans in a light cheese sauce. The sauce was especially for the kids, since I have discovered that almost any vegetable has a better chance of being eaten if it comes sitting in a cheesy base that reminds them of macaroni and cheese. Then one of our group made a light salad of lettuce and some of the strawberries that have been on sale for a few weeks. A loaf of good whole wheat bread topped off the main course. The budgetary theme continued here too, as the lettuce, green beans, strawberries, and bread were all featured sale items for the week, and cheese continues to drop in price in our area.

For dessert, another group member brought her own experiment: a chocolate two-layer cake with butter cream frosting and fondant decorations. She wanted to "practice" before using the fondant for a graduation cake she will be making for her niece in two weeks. Her own particular budget secret is that she uses cake mixes for her cakes, buying them when on sale, and then adds her artistic expression to the decorations themselves.

Perhaps you shudder when you think of inviting others for a meal when your budget is already tight, especially if you feel you must spend a lot of money on these company dinners. But our group of friends ended the meal feeling as if we had feasted luxuriously—as we had, compared to so many in the world.

And so we sat for an hour or more, watching the kids playing on the lawn made bright with an afternoon rain, enjoying coffee and conversation—and after all, isn't that what you really want your shared meals to accomplish?

Raspberry Coffee Cakes

I seem to be stuck in the breakfast mode these days, but now a couple of sweet breads to balance yesterday's savory recipes.

The first is a coffee cake I've been making for 30 years or more, and the inspiration at that time came from a decades old cookbook. This is one of those lovely recipes that stand up to all manner of tinkering, my favorite kind. Today's version has raspberries, but it can be made with lots of other fruits or without any fruit at all. The nicest part of it is that, if you have a food processor, it takes about five minutes to stir up. Even without that great appliance, this is a very quick bread that looks like it took a lot longer.

Crumb Coffee Cake

3 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 c sugar—may use all white sugar or a mixture of white and brown sugars
1 to 2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 c butter, cut in thin slices
3 large eggs
1 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/2 c almonds—see preparation comment below
1 c fresh or frozen raspberries—do not thaw

To prepare almonds: If using a food processor, put whole almonds in and chop coarsely. Set aside in a 2 cup measure. If you do not have a food processor, use sliced or chopped almonds for this recipe.

Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of the processor (or in a large mixing bowl). Cut in the butter until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal. Remove some of the crumb mixture to the measuring cup with the almonds so that you have a total of 1 1/2 cups of crumbs and almonds. Set this aside.

Put the three eggs around the top of the dry ingredients and pour the milk and vanilla over. Process or beat by hand just until smooth. The batter will be quite thin.

Spray a 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the raspberries evenly over the top and then spread with the nut/crumb mixture, covering all the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until done. (If using frozen berries, you may need to add a few minutes of baking time.)

Some other variations to consider: Any berries can be substituted for the raspberries, as can finely diced apple, raisins or other dried fruit. The nuts can be omitted or walnuts or pecans used instead. Applesauce can be substituted for the milk; with this variation, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and reduce the baking powder to 2 1/2 teaspoons. Add more or less cinnamon or substitute almond for the vanilla.

Now for a coffee cake that will require only a little more time but more preplanning. I recently stirred up enough sweet dough for two loaves of bread and made it into two raspberry filled coffee cakes. The shaping was amazingly easy, but the results were really very attractive.

Raspberry Filled Yeast Coffee Cake

1 batch sweet yeast dough, enough for 2 loaves of bread
Raspberry filling
Powdered sugar frosting

When the dough has risen and is ready to be shaped, divide in half. Roll each one into a square about 12 inches or so on each side. It should be no more than one half inch thick. Transfer the square to a well-oiled baking sheet.
A couple of hints:

• Be sure you transfer the dough before filling and cutting! If you don't, you will have a lot of difficulty getting the coffee cake onto the baking sheet without a mess!
• Do not use an insulated baking sheet for this recipe. These are large loaves and the bottom will not brown adequately with insulated sheets. In fact, if you have a pizza stone, put the pan directly on the stone when you are baking these loaves for the best crust.

Now for the final shaping. Imagine the square as being divided in thirds. The center third is where you will place the filling, while the two thirds on the sides will be slashed and folded over the center.

Spread half the filling down the center of the dough, stopping just before the ends of the dough.

With kitchen scissors or a very sharp knife, make cuts on each side, about 1 inch apart and ending just before the filling.

Beginning at one end, fold the cut strips over the filling, alternating from the left and right sides. Allow the strips to overlap slightly and let a little bit of the filling peek through as you go. Pinch and fold the dough at both ends to keep the filling form leaking out. Repeat with the second half of the dough and filling.

Cover lightly with a towel and let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. When cooled, drizzle thick powdered sugar icing over the coffee cakes, allowing the filling to peek through between the squiggles of icing.

Raspberry Filling

12 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed; reserve juice
1/2 to 3/4 c sugar, according to your tastes
2 T cornstarch
water

Place the drained juice from the raspberries in a measuring cup and add enough water to make 1 cup.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir the sugar and cornstarch together until well blended. Gradually add the water and raspberry juice mixture and stir. Microwave at low to medium power for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice. The mixture should bubble and become clear and thick.
Remove from microwave and stir in the berries. Set aside until cool.

Powdered Sugar Icing

2 T butter, softened or melted
approximately 1 pound powdered sugar
milk
1 t vanilla

Gradually stir some powdered sugar into the butter until it is creamy. Add the vanilla and a very little milk and then some more powdered sugar. Continue beating together, alternating powdered sugar and a few drops of milk until the powdered sugar is used up.

If you have never made this kind of icing before, be VERY careful! It takes only a few drops of milk to turn the icing from "just a little too stiff" to a soupy mix that will run right off of whatever it is you want to ice. Slow and steady is the rule here. The good news is that you can correct icing that is too thin by just adding more powdered sugar. The bad news of course is that you either have no more powdered sugar to add or you will end up with enough icing for half a dozen cakes! (If the latter occurs, cover the icing tightly and refrigerate; it will keep for a week or more, until your next baking session.)

Savory Breakfasts

In my last post, I included both a sweet and a savory brunch dish. While my usual quick morning start is a bowl of mixed cereals topped with fresh or dried fruits and a quarter cup or so of rolled oats, a special breakfast for me always leans toward the savory rather than sweet side. When I go out for breakfast or want something out of the ordinary on a weekend or when guests are present, I don't crave pancakes or French toast or lots of pastries. Instead, give me real hash browns (not those grease-soaked patties from the fast food places), moderately spicy salsa and maybe an egg or two. Another alternative is a vegetable-heavy frittata with more salsa and a sprinkling of cheese.

A package of purchased sweet rolls, a couple of cereal boxes set out with a carton of milk--it's hard to beat the ease of these options, but here are a couple of ideas for foods that really don't take too much more time or effort, especially after you have made them a few times. They are casual mixtures that don't require lots of measuring, and they are a good way to use up some leftover vegetables or even meats that aren't quite enough for a full meal on their own. Best of all, the cost can be quite low for the amount of nutrition provided. Feel free to experiment using whatever is at hand and in season.

Frittatas

Basic ingredients:

Eggs—probably about two per serving, with an extra one added in for each two or three people
Oil for the pan (or bacon or ham fat if you want added flavor)
Seasonings

• Herbs—I like to use a little basil, thyme, and rosemary mixed together
• Minced garlic—a little or a lot, depending on your family's preference
• Black pepper
• Salt (optional)

Onions—about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of chopped onion per person
Vegetables: any (or all?) of the following. These may be fresh, frozen, or (pre-cooked) leftovers:

• Bell peppers, chopped
• Celery
• Green chilis, diced
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Broccoli flowerets
• Diced carrots
• Cauliflower flowerets
• Peas
• Sugar peas
• Corn
• Zucchini
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Shredded cabbage

How many vegetables? For a really veggie dish, you may want as much as a cup of vegetables for every two eggs; for a dish that is more like an omelet, the amount of vegetable may be less.

Optional ingredients could include:
• Cheese—mozzarella, cheddar, Monterrey jack, etc.
• Leftover ham, bacon, chicken, etc.
• Black olives

1. Slowly saute the onion in the oil in a large skillet. Add whatever vegetables you will be using, starting with those that will need the longest time to cook (raw carrots, peppers, broccoli and cauliflower), then adding others with shorter cooking time (shredded cabbage, grated or diced zucchini, etc.). Turn the heat down and cover the pan, letting the vegetables simmer until just tender. If you are using frozen or pre-cooked vegetables, add them just before stirring in the eggs.

2. While the vegetables are cooking, beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are well mixed. Add whatever seasonings you plan to use.

3. Stir the eggs into the vegetables and mix well. Fold in the meat and cheese.

4. Microwave instructions: Turn the mixture into a well-oiled microwave safe casserole dish. (To be sure that the mixture will cook evenly, the eggs should probably not be more than 2 inches deep in whatever dish you use.) Cover loosely and microwave on medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir the mixture with a fork and continue cooking. The total length of time will depend on the amount you are making. Four to six eggs will probably not take much more than another minute or so, while a dozen eggs with a lot of vegetables could take 10 or 11 minutes. The key is to be sure not to use too high power and to stir frequently so that the mixture cooks evenly.
Oven instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the top of the frittata with additional grated cheese if desired. . If the skillet that was used for the vegetables is oven-safe, simply slip the pan into the oven. Otherwise, turn the mixture into a well-oiled casserole dish, and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until set in the center.

Veggie Hash Browns with Eggs

Canola oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan well
Chopped onions
Sliced potatoes (see NOTE)
Thinly sliced carrots or sweet potatoes
Diced bell pepper (optional)
Diced celery (optional)
Seasoning salt or seasoning blend
1 egg per person

1. Prepare the vegetables, allowing one medium potato, about 1/2 cup sliced carrot or sweet potato and 2 to 4 tablespoons of onion per serving.

2. Heat the oil on medium high in a large skillet. Saute the onions and carrots or sweet potatoes, stirring often, until the onions are golden and the carrots are just starting to become tender. Stir in the potatoes (and peppers and celery if used), sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt and turn heat down to medium. Cover lightly and cook about five minutes, until the bottom is well-browned. Turn the mixture and continue cooking until the second side is browned and crispy.

3. Push the vegetables to the edge of the pan. If necessary, add a little more oil to the open center and then add the eggs, one at a time. Cover the pan and turn the heat down (for eggs with a firm yolk) or off (for eggs with a soft yolk). Allow about five minutes for the eggs to be cooked. Grated cheese may be sprinkled over the top just before serving.

NOTE: "Southern style hash browns" in the frozen food section are simply grated potatoes, usually without any added fat, and can be substituted for the potatoes in this recipe.

Breakfast/Brunch Main Dishes--Sweet and Savory

Eggs are always on special somewhere the week before Easter, so they were an easy choice for the basis of two main dish offerings I would be taking to our congregation's annual Easter breakfast.

Frittatas and French toast are always good budget main dishes, and both can be scaled up or down pretty easily, so it wasn't hard to decide on the following two dishes to take to breakfast.

The next question was what to add to the basic ingredients, so I started looking through the pantry and refrigerator to see what was available. Out of those forays, I came up with the following main dishes, both of which were quickly eaten--always a sure sign of a food everyone likes.

With the eggs and cheese both on sale and lots of raspberries still in the freezer from last year's garden, I was able to make both dishes for less than $7 total--not bad for so many servings!

Raspberry French Toast

Since I still have a lot of raspberries in the freezer from last year's garden, I can be pretty generous with them. You could probably substitute other berries or even spread some berry jam in place of the sugar and frozen raspberries.

2 T butter
Approximately 12 slices dry bread
1 c raspberries
1 apple, diced--or more
Sugar and cinnamon
1/3 c chopped walnuts--or more
8 eggs
1/2 to 3/4 c dry milk powder
Approximately 2 c water
1/3 c sugar
Maple syrup (I used "maple-flavored" pancake syrup rather than the "real" thing for this recipe, but it still turned out with a pleasing flavor)
1/3 c raspberry syrup
1 c raspberries

Melt butter in bottom of 9 X 13 casserole. Spread broken up pieces of dry bread over to make a thin layer. Spread with 1 cup of raspberries, apple, walnuts and sugar and cinnamon. Cover with another layer of bread pieces.

Beat together the eggs, dry milk, water, and sugar until well blended. Pour over the bread, making sure all areas are moistened. (If necessary, beat another egg or two with a little milk and add.) Drizzle the top generously with maple and raspberry syrups. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Remove cover, spread with another cup of raspberries and sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.

Put in microwave (loosely covered) for about 11 minutes on power level 7, until center is set. Check for doneness by inserting a table knife near the center; the knife blade should come out clean.
(If using conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees about 45 to 55 minutes.)

NOTE: The raspberry syrup was made from the juices drained from an earlier package of frozen raspberries. Combine about 1/2 cup raspberry juice with 1/2 cup water and about 1 c sugar. Cook in microwave or on stovetop until mixture boils and cooks down to a syrupy consistency. If desired, omit this syrup and increase the amount of maple syrup drizzled over the top.

Savory Eggs and Vegetables

These were the vegetables I had on hand, so these are the ones I used this time. The nice thing with frittatas is that you can make a different dish every time, just by varying the add-ins based on what you have on hand.

4 carrots, thinly sliced
Approximately 4-5 c shredded cabbage
1 large onion, diced
1/2 large green pepper, coarsely chopped
3 large cloves minced garlic
Mixed herbs, black pepper
18 eggs
12 ounces shredded cheese—Mozzarella and taco cheese
Additional cheese for topping

Saute vegetables in a little oil in a large skillet, until carrots are crisp tender and onion is translucent. Transfer to a large (11 X 14) baking dish. Sprinkle with herbs and pepper.

Beat eggs together as for scrambled eggs. Stir in cheese. Pour this over the prepared vegetables. Sprinkle with a little more cheese.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until center is set. If the casserole begins to brown before completely done, cover with foil.

NOTE: The dried herbs I used were a mixture of rosemary, thyme, basil, and marjoram, pounded together in a mortar and pestle. I used a generous teaspoon or so of the mixed herbs for this recipe.

Black-eyed Susan Cake

Tonight we had a much delayed corned beef and cabbage dinner, and I wanted to make a dessert that would be a little festive after this rather peasant-y kind of main dish. I ended developing a variation on the Lazy Daisy cake my mother often made for meals such as this; it seemed like the flower in the title should reflect the addition of cocoa to the cake, so we now have a new family favorite, Black-eyed Susan Cake.

Though the cake looks a little like German Chocolate, it has a deeper chocolate flavor. It can also be made using chopped nuts instead of coconut, but I prefer the coconut, perhaps because that was my mother's choice.

This is a relatively economical dessert, especially if you buy the coconut when it is on sale (which it often is before the Christmas and Easter holidays). You may substitute margarine for the butter in the cake, but the topping really is best if you use real butter. As noted, I did not use half and half but instead cut costs (and only slightly made the cake a little healthier) by using dry milk powder added to milk--which in my house is always nonfat. If you have whole milk or even 2%, you could leave out the dry milk.

And the apple? I added that mostly because I had one that was starting to get a little soft at this end of winter storage. While it could be omitted; it added to the overall moistness of the cake and I definitely recommend including it.



Since the cake is really quite rich, it can easily be cut into 24 pieces, another way to stretch the budget--though it will be hard for many to stop with just one serving!!

Black-eyed Susan Cake

1 1/2 c boiling water
1 c oatmeal
1/2 c butter or margarine
1/2 c cocoa
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/3 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 medium apple, cored and finely chopped or grated--about 3/4 to 1 c (optional)

Bring water to a boil in a stainless steel mixing bowl. Immediately stir in the butter, cocoa, and oatmeal. Stir to combine and melt butter.
When the mixture has cooled a little beat in the sugar and chopped apple. Meanwhile, sift the flour, soda, and cinnamon together.
Add the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture and beat well. Then stir in the flour and beat until smooth. Immediately pour into a greased and floured 13 X 9 pan and bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes, until just done.

Take the cake out of the oven and use a fork to poke small holes all over the surface. Spread topping evenly over the still hot cake and return to the oven—set on broil—for two to five minutes, just until the topping is bubbly and starting to turn golden. Watch closely because this begins to darken (and then burn!) very quickly.

Topping:

1  c brown sugar
1/2 c butter
3 T milk plus 1 T dry milk powder for added richness OR 3 T half and half)
1 1/2 to 2 c shredded coconut

Combine butter, brown sugar, and milk in a large bowl and microwave on medium power about 4 minutes, until very bubbly. If you try it in a two cup measure as in the picture, you will need to watch the mixture VERY closely to avoid a messy boil-over!

 

(If cooking on top of the stove, allow to boil about two to three minutes.)
Remove from microwave or heat and stir in the coconut. Spread evenly over cake as noted above.

Lemon Raspberry Bars/Torte/Dessert

What's in a name? Sometimes, in baking, the shape of the pan in which a recipe is baked will affect what the final product is named. Today's main recipe is like that. Baked in a springform or other straight-sided round pan, it is likely to be called a torte; in a 7 X 11 pan, it becomes a bar cookie. Either way, my variation is a simple and fast to make dessert that is rich yet relatively inexpensive.

Raspberry Lemon Dessert

Crust:
1/3 c butter
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c flour

12 oz frozen raspberries, thawed and drained (See NOTE)

Filling:
3 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons, enough for 1/3 c juice
Zest of 2 lemons
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c flour

1. Prepare the crust:
Melt butter in 7 X 11 pan. Cut in the sugar and flour with a fork and then use your fingers to press the well-mixed dough evenly over the pan.

Spread with the well-drained raspberries and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar until thick and light colored. Fold in the lemon juice and zest and the 1/4 cup flour, stirring just until blended. Pour over the raspberries and crust and bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If the top begins to brown too soon, cover lightly with a piece of aluminum foil.)

3. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut in small squares after cooling. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

Makes 18 to 24 squares, depending on the size serving you prefer.

NOTE: I have raspberries in my garden and freeze them in 8 to 12 oz bags. I thaw the berries and then, while still in the bag, allow the juice to flow into a bowl, squeezing the berries to be sure they are well-drained. You could also put the berries in a colander and press lightly with the back of a spoon. The berries should not be very juicy for this recipe, but you also do not want to squeeze out all the pulp and be left only with the seeds!

What to do with the Raspberry Juice?

I usually have as much as half a cup of raspberry juice left from the squeezing. That is just too wonderful to throw away so here are a couple of uses for the juice:

Stir a half cup in with the water used to reconstitute a 12 oz can of frozen lemonade concentrate for a brisk summery cooler.

Add the juice to your next slushy drink; this is especially good with an orange or apple juice and frozen banana combination.

Make a raspberry sauce for serving over a basic cake, ice cream, vanilla yoghurt, or even rice pudding.

Raspberry Sauce

1/2 c raspberry juice
1/4 c water
1/4 to 1/3 c sugar--to taste
1 T cornstarch

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a microwave-safe bowl. Because the sauce will bubble up when cooked, be sure the bowl is large enough. Stir in the water to make a thick paste and then gradually stir in the raspberry juice. When well blended, put in microwave on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it has bubbled up and become clear. Store in the refrigerator.

Variations: May add a half teaspoon of lemon juice or a quarter teaspoon of almond extract.

A Basic Tutorial on Separating Eggs

Cracking an egg seems about as basic as boiling water, but separating yolks from whites can seem a little trickier, especially if you have never been able to watch someone else do this. Since the separation step is probably the hardest part of the Lemon Pudding Cake, here are a few hints to

1. If you will be separating more than one egg, you will need three bowls. The good news is that one of these will be the bowl you will be beating the egg whites in. The other bowls can be quite small.

2. Crack the egg, holding it over one of the smaller bowls. Then, shifting the yolk from one side of the shell to the other, let the egg white flow into the bowl.

3. When as much of the white is removed from the shell as possible, put the yolk into one of the other dishes and pour the saved egg white into the mixing bowl.

Here is the reason for the three bowls: When you are separating the eggs, it is possible that the yolk may break and some of the yolk will fall into the egg white in the bowl. However, even the tiniest bit of egg yolk will keep the whites from forming the foamy texture you want when beating them. By putting each egg white into another bowl as you separate the eggs, you avoid having all the egg whites spoiled should a bit of yolk get in them.

If you want to see some videos with a couple of other methods—including using your hand instead of the shell to do the separating, go to http://www.wikihow.com/Separate-an-Egg
One more thing: if you do get egg yolk into one of the egg whites, DON'T throw it out! If you have no other baking to do right away, an egg out of the shell like this can be tightly covered and refrigerated for a day or two or used for an impromptu scrambled egg supper.

Pudding Cakes

Over the years, one of our family's favorite comfort foods has been a brownie pudding cake from a very old edition of the basic Betty Crocker cookbook. It's a good recipe to use when there isn't an egg in the house. It doesn't cost a lot, and is fun and easy for kids to help make—as long as there is an adult around to handle the very hot water. (And do be sure the water is very hot, even boiling.)

Hot Fudge Pudding

1 c flour
3/4 c sugar
3 T cocoa
2 t baking powder
2 T melted butter (or oil)
1/2 c milk
Topping:
1 c brown sugar
4 T cocoa
1 3/4 c very hot water
1 c chopped nuts (optional)



1. Sift dry ingredients and stir in milk, butter, and nuts. Spread in oiled 9” square pan.
2. Mix brown sugar and cocoa and sprinkle over batter.
3. Pour hot water over entire batter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold.













The following Lemon Pudding Cake results in a similar cake over sauce dessert, but it uses a slightly different method. It does involve some beating of egg whites but is still very easy--and a lot quicker than lemon meringue pie!

Lemon Pudding Cake

4 eggs, separated
1/3 c lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
1 T butter
1 1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c milk

Prepare oven and pan. Place a large baking dish in the oven and add hot water to about 1 inch in depth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.
2. Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind, and butter or margarine and beat until thick and lemon colored.
3. Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition. NOTE: Batter will be very thin; don't worry!!
4. Fold in egg whites until just blended.
5. Pour into 8 inch square baking dish and set this into the pan of hot water.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. If the pudding begins to brown a little too much before the time is up, cover the pan loosely with foil.

Note: I used 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder and 1 1/2 cups water for the liquid. For a stronger lemon flavor, use an extra 1/4 cup of lemon juice and reduce the water to 1 1/4 cups, keeping the dry milk powder amount the same.


Why do I need to bake this in a pan of water?

Don't eliminate this step! Using a "water bath" ensures even cooking for delicate dishes like custards and this pudding. The water "insulates" the edges so that they do not become too brown or even burned before the center is adequately baked.

The biggest challenge this method presents is in finding the right combination of pans to hold both the pudding and the water bath. Here are a few suggestions you might have available:
• A 12 inch straight sided—and ovenproof—frying pan
• A small roaster
• A Dutch oven
• If your pudding will be baked in an aluminum or steel 8 inch pan, a 9 X 13 pan may be large enough to accommodate it. An 8 inch square glass or ceramic baking dish will probably not fit.
Remember, there will need to be water on all four sides of the pan, so don't use something that is just barely bigger than the pudding pan itself.

If you don't have anything large enough to accommodate your 8 inch square pan, try an 8 inch round pan in some of your options. Another way to address the problem is to bake the pudding in 6 to 8 individual ramekins. (If you use this alternative, the baking time should be reduced to 30 to 35 minutes.)

A Note on Salt

I probably should have included a comment in yesterday's Cabbage Rolls recipe, that it was no typo that there is no salt added anywhere. Then I decided the subject of salt is important enough to have its own entry.

An article in the August 1, 2008, Woman's Day quoted our own Mayo Clinic with these statistics: 6% of our daily salt intake comes from what we add at the table and another 5% is added while cooking. Meanwhile, fully 77% comes from processed and already prepared food we buy at the supermarket. (I guess the remainder must come from the meals we eat out--the article doesn't give us info on the missing 12%!)

One of the ways that I have found to cut back at least a little on overall sodium levels in my recipes is to rely on all that salt in the processed ingredients. Spaghetti sauce is one of my favorite "convenience" foods, but almost all brands are high in sodium. There are only a few low sodium options, and these are both expensive and not always well-seasoned in other ways. However, I have learned never to add salt to any dish where I will be using spaghetti sauce until I have tasted the final product. For example, there is enough salt in the Cabbage Roll sauce to season the pound of meat and all the other ingredients as well.

Other sodium lowering tricks:

I never salt the water in which I cook pasta and often eliminate the salt in rice if the food being served over it will be high in salt--think of all those wonderful Chinese dishes that include very salty soy sauce.

Mexican food ingredients--salsa, enchilada sauce, canned beans--can be very high in salt but there are ways to get around this. If you prepare your own pinto and other beans (really very easy and something I'll be covering soon), don't add salt. Most cooks will tell you that salt added too early when cooking beans is a problem for getting them soft anyway. Don't salt the guacamole, and use fresh tomatoes whenever possible. Make taco meat with chili powder, oregano, and garlic and don't add any salt.

Unless you buy expensive (and often not too flavorful) low sodium cheese, you will be getting a lot of salt when you include cheese in your dishes. Try using aged cheddar instead of mild and you can cut the total amount of cheese and thus sodium--along with a lot of unnecessary fat. Stir some plain yogurt into your casseroles (hotdishes) along with a reduced amount of cheese and you'll have a creamy sauce without as much salt. Add more pepper or some extra seasoning (oregano, cumin, basil, etc.) to boost the flavor if necessary.

Never salt vegetables that to which you will be adding sauce. Skip the salt even for those that will be served steamed and plain. A little pepper, a favorite herb combination, even a dollop of yogurt might be enough to cover for the "missing" salt. If you butter your vegetables, try using unsalted butter.

Never add salt to scrambled or fried eggs. It may sound strange, but you might just find you like these better without. Even if you do add salt at the table, you probably will be able to get by with using less at this point, since you will be able to get that "salty" taste on the tongue from the grains added afterward.

A lot of pie and other fruit desserts include salt; just don't include it and see if anyone even notices. Sometimes a tiny amount of lemon juice or vinegar can enhance the flavor more than any salt would have.

In other baking, I long ago stopped putting added salt in anything that includes baking powder or baking soda--those both already have plenty of sodium in them, and I would guess you will not miss the salt at all. If you really worry about the final result being too bland, add a few extra drops of vanilla or lemon juice or an extra shake of cinnamon or other spices already included in the recipe.

Don't however, eliminate salt in any yeast breads. Here, salt is not just a seasoning but also a control over the growth of the yeast. If you really have to eliminate salt from your diet, you may need to do a little research and testing to find an acceptable recipe for salt-free bread. I found one recipe at http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/HoneyWheatBread.htm but have not tested it myself to know if it will work.


Above all, of course, try to use fresh or unadorned frozen foods as much as possible. The more of these you use in your recipes, the more you can "dilute" the saltiness of any processed ingredients you may include. For those processed ingredients you do use and for which you can't afford salt-free substitutes, try a few of these hints to lower your sodium intake without blowing the food budget.

June 4, 2012 update:

Here is a very interesting article on the topic of salt:

We only think we know the truth about salt