Thai Corn Soup

2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 -3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 cups veggie stock
1 15-oz. can cream-style corn
2 cups peeled, cooked small shrimp (you can use the small, frozen kind)
1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
1 tbsp. Sweet Vietnamese Chilie Sauce
salt and freshly ground pepper
cilantro leaves, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic over medium-high heat until just softened.

Stir in the chicken-veggie stock, cream-style corn, shrimp, and chili sauce. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with the salt and pepper and add cilantro leaves cooks briefly. Add more cilantro leaves as garnish floating on the soup.

4 servings

Tomato and Bread Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of hot pepper flakes
1.5 c stale bread cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
28 ounce can of tomatoes, chopped or crushed
3 tbsp fresh basil chopped
5 c stock
salt and pepper
grated hard cheese

Heat oil in a large pan, saute onion and garlic until soft. Add tomatoes, bread and basil. (I did not have fresh basil so used some dry basil and oregano), Add the heated stock (veggie) to the tomato mixture, mix well bring to a boil,
lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to stand , then servecorrect seasonings and can add more extra-virgin olive oil.

White Bean, Escarole and Bell Pepper Soup

IMG_59292 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 – 1 head of escarole, rinsed and cut up
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
4 1/2 c veggie broth
Chunk of parm. or romano chesse
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 tsp marjoram
grated romano cheese

Heat oil, add onion and peppers, saute about 15 minutes or till starting to turn brown add garlic cook for a min then add escarole and pepper flakes, saute 3 minutes or until it starts to wilt. Add broth, beans, marjoram and chunk of cheese and simmer 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle each serving with grated cheese.

6 servings

Variety Cookies – St. Catherine’s cookbook

3 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. margarine
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream margarine and sugar together thoroughly. Add edd and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Gradually in stir sifted dry ingredients until well blended.

Roll small amount of dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured board. Shape with cutters. Bake on ungreased sheet at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Makes around 5 dozen cookies.

Thumb Prints – Agnes Drake

½ c butter
½ c brown sugar
1 c sifted flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
1 egg separated
chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans

currant jellyCream butter and sugar, add egg yolk, flour, salt and vanilla. Mix and chill for 1 hour.Shape dough into 24 little balls, dip in slightly beaten egg white and roll in finely chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, take out of oven and make an indentation with a thimble then bake for 10 more minutes.When cool fill with currant jelly.

Ragged Robins – Amy Voigt

1 c. margarine
3/4c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream shortening and sugar, add egg, vanilla, salt, soda and flour and mix thoroughly. Add nuts and raisins

Shape dough into irregular balls with a tsp and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until a little brown on top.

If underbaked they aren’t as crispy

Note from Amy: delicious cooky, easy to make and bake – can add chocolate or butterscotch chips – dough doesn’t spread while baking so can put cookies fairly close together.

Raspberry Pie with frozen berries

Combine:
4 c. frozen berries
1 1/4 c. sugar
3 tbsp. tapioca

Stir gently and let sit 15 minutes. Put in crust, dot with 2 tsp. butter. Put on top crust.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an addtional 40-45 minutes or until golden.

Fresh Raspberry Pie

Combine:
4 c. fresh berries
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. tapioca if berries are juicy

Stir gently and let sit 15 minutes. Put in crust, dot with 2 tsp. butter. Put on top crust.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an addtional 40-45 minutes or until golden.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

1c. butter
¼ c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 c. ground pecans or walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
Confectioner’s sugar

Cream butter, add sugar, flour, nuts and vanilla mix thoroughly. Roll small amounts (1/2 tsp.) into balls and arrange on buttered cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake 35 minutes at 300 degrees. Roll in confect sugar as taken from the oven. Cool then roll in sugar again.

Linzertorte – Burt Wolf

1 ½ c flour
1 c finely ground almonds
¾ c sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
1 tsp baking powder
¾ c butter
2 eggs
¾ c seedless red raspberry preserves
¼ c sliced almonds (optional for decoration)
confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and baking powder. Cut up butter and blend with dry ingredients till mixture looks sandy. Beat 1 egg, stir in with a fork only until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Press 2/3 of the dough into bottom of a buttered 9 inch spring-form pan. Make a rim around the edge about ¼ inch higher than center and about ½ inch thick. Spread the preserves in the center. Roll out remaining dough, into a rectangle make ¼ inch strips and apply lattice over preserves (be aware strips with become wider at cake bakes). Another option, which I’ve done recently cut out star shapes with cookie cutters and place on preserves, much easier! The following is optional, I don’t do this step. Beat 2nd egg and paint lattice and border, then sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake 40 minutes until dough is set and light golden in color. Cool in pan on a rack. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Serves 8-12.