Whiteley Creek Homestead

These ice cream "sandwitches" look like they are fussy to make, but follow my adaptation and you'll be pulling them out of your freezer to impress every friend that stops by unannounced. The photo washed out the true color of the ice cream, making it appear as if it is vanilla, but it is mint with a perfect witch green color. I got the idea from Martha Stewart's web site, however the need to create two templates to pour the batter into… one circle to create the round cookie and a half circle to form the cone-shaped hat… was way too time-consuming and it didn't work anyway. The baked end product was too soft even after leaving it in the oven longer than the recipe called for. Maybe I poured it too thick. I devised a simpler method than Martha's recipe.

I went to Cold Stone Creamery and had a very helpful friendly employee, who showed great interest in my project, dip kid-size waffle cones in chocolate. I also purchased a small container of mint ice cream and some orange M&Ms for a button on the side of the witch's hat. When I returned home, I dipped the hats in melted semi-sweet chocolate squares to create a band on the hat and to adhere the hat to the top cookie. 

For the cookies, I used my "triple chocolate cookie" recipe. Normally they remain in a mound shape when baked in the oven but, for this application, I flattened the dough with the bottom of a glass and the palm of my hand before putting them in the oven. To save time, I'm sure there is a purchased cookie that could be used. These cute little witches could then be made in a few minutes flat.

Today on the way home from the post office to mail off a package and to purchase some supplies for a fun Halloween treat that I am making, I was mulling over what I might prepare for supper. I had made a vegetable soup for lunch but had no plans beyond that. When I walked in the door, the most wonderful aroma greeted me. Dick had supper in the oven. He described the day's events. When he was outside today, he heard glass breaking, but he didn't know where the sound came from. A while later he walked out to check the water heater in one of our cabins and discovered a partridge that had flown into the glass window of the cabin's front door. Shattered glass lay strewn on the front porch. Sadly, the bird didn't survive it's ill-fated flight. Not to let perfectly good meat go to waste, Dick got busy.

He baked the partridge in cream of chicken soup along with a whole apple. and a sprinkling of freshly grated pepper and Johnny's Seasoning Salt.

While the partridge finished baking, I went to my garden to pull some carrots. I thought some honey carrots would be a nice side dish.

The recipe calls for whole baby carrots, but my garden ones were so large that I sliced them. What a fun surprise tonight's supper turned out to be. A perfect autumn "from the land" kind of meal.

My friend Deb's birthday is four days before mine, so we get together to celebrate each year. Our busy schedules prevented us from connecting at the end of September on our actual birthdates, so we had lunch at my house yesterday. I prepared vegetarian taco salad and Deb brought the tiniest, most adorable, yummy chocolate cake. I found a birthday candle in the top shelf of a kitchen cabinet to light for the occasion. I chose an orange one because it looked like fall and the approaching Halloween holiday… and squiggly because it looked like fun. 

After serving breakfast to my B&B guests and thoroughly enjoying Deb's company as we chatted over lunch, I prepared dinner for my brother Greg and his wife Jerrie visiting from Washington State, my sister-in-law Lucy from Elk River, Minnesota, and my brother Cliff who lives in Brainerd. Lasagna prepared in advance and placed in the fridge is a life-saver on a busy day. I got the recipe from Lucy many years ago. It goes together quickly and is always a hit. 

Lucy’s Lasagna Serves 15

1 lb hamburger

1 envelope spaghetti sauce mix

8 oz. package lasagna noodles (enough for two layers)

1 package colby cheese

1 package mozzarella cheese

16 oz. cottage cheese

Brown hamburger. Prepare spaghetti sauce mix according to package directions. Boil lasagna noodles. Grate and mix together colby and mozzarella cheese (or purchase preshredded). Place one layer of lasagna noodles in bottom of 9×12 baking dish, overlapping them. Spread ½ browned hamburger over top, then ½ carton cottage cheese, next ½ of the spaghetti sauce, and finally ½ of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate and bake for 45 minutes). Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

I worked outside today in my gardens cleaning out dried vines as well as plants that had been zapped by the two mornings of frost we had last week. Considering we are into October already, the weather is still comfortable but just chilly enough for a hot bowl of soup. I didn't want to spend an excessive amount of time in the kitchen because I wanted to return to my fall garden cleanup, so I tried a "Quick Spinach-Chickpea Soup" from a Clean Eating Magazine's e-newsletter. It went together quickly and was very flavorful after I added my "dried herb foursome". I frequently add basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary to soups if I find the recipe needs a flavor boost. For a large pot, I add one generous teaspoon of each of the four herbs. For 1/2 pot, I add 1/2 generous teaspoon of each of the four herbs. In addition, there are two staples I keep in my pantry to add a boost of flavor to soups.

Better Than Bouillon, which is made from 10 ingredients: chicken meat and natural juices, salt, cane sugar, maltodextrin, natural flavor, dried onion, potato starch, dried garlic, tumeric, and spice extractives can be used in place of Wyler's Chicken Bouillon which contains 32 ingredients: salt, sugar, chicken, potassium chloride, corn syrup solids, corn gluten hydrolyzed, onion powder, maltodextrin, chicken fat, monosodium glutamate, corn starch modified, yeast extract autolyzed, garlic powder, natural flavors, chicken broth, taurine, tumeric, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, dextrin, citric acid, caramel color, hydrolyzed soy protein, dehydrated parsley flakes, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, soy sauce powder (wheat fermented), soy, spices, BHA, BHT, propyl gallate (preservative). 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon = 1 Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cube. Edward & Sons Garden Veggie Cubes is wonderful in combination with Better Than Bouillon or by itself as a vegetarian option. 

Spinach-Chickpea Soup Serves 4.

This is a nutritious soup that can be prepared in 10-15 minutes… practically as fast as you can open a store-bought can of soup.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or 4 c water + 1 Edward & Sons Garden Veggie Bouillon Cube + 1 tbsp Organic Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)

1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 (14 oz) can low-sodium chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), rinsed well (Other beans work equally well. One time I had 1/2 can leftover vegetarian baked beans that I tossed in. Nice.)

6 oz spinach leaves (about 6 packed cups), washed (I used 6 oz frozen chopped spinach.)

1/2 tsp salt (I omitted.) 

1/4 tsp pepper

In addition, I added a generous ½ tsp each: dried basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary.

¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese, grated

In a large pot over medium heat, warm oil for 30 seconds to a minute until sizzling. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and light golden, about 5 minutes; then add garlic, cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Next, add vegetable broth and tomatoes, bringing to a boil; followed by chickpeas and spinach leaves. Sir until spinach is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add herbs then season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle cheese on top of soup in serving bowls. 

I made a meatless taco salad when my daughter Lisa invited her friend Niki, who is vegetarian, over for dinner. The recipe came from a vegetarian cookbook that I purchased when Dick and I attended a Hallelujah Acres nutritional seminar in Tampa, Florida. Serve it with a cluster of grapes and chunks of zucchini oatmeal bread and you have a nutritious tasty meal.

Vegetarian Taco Salad

Taco Sauce:

Heat 1 cup water or chicken broth. Turn off heat then add 1 cup TVP. Stir, cover with a lid, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Prepare veggies:

1 cup carrots, chopped into very small pieces so that they cook through at the same rate as the other veggies

1 cup green peppers, or green/red peppers combo, or zucchini/peppers combo

1 cup chopped onions

Saute veggies in small amount of water or chicken broth/stock until they are tender but still have some firmness. Season with generous measurements of 1 tsp powder oregano, ¾ tsp cumin, and ¾ tsp garlic powder. Add rehydrated TVP and 1 can black beans. Add Bragg Liquid Aminos to taste. Heat.

Prepare toppings:

sliced black olives, Romaine lettuce (shredded or cut into small pieces), and shredded cheddar cheese

Assemble salad:

On a dinner plate, crumble blue corn chips and top with shredded lettuce. Add a ladle of taco mix and top with shredded cheese and a few black olives. Serve with mild salsa. I like Muir Glen and Wild Harvest Organic (Cub Foods store brand).

Bragg liquid Aminos is essential. It gives the taco salad a wonderful salty flavor. TVP (textured vegetable protein), which is also labeled TSP (textured soy protein), is used as a  replacement for meat in the dish. It comes dehydrated and when rehydrated with water, vegetable broth, chicken broth, beef broth, or tomato juice it has the texture of ground beef.