A Few Recipes

I work in a group home, and sometimes the cooking falls to me. I don’t mind, as my workplace is my playground. I’ve always got willing participants to help pour and stir, and the best part for everyone is getting to eat what I make.

CORN SOUP

This was adapted from a vegetarian cookbook. I made it at work and 2 out of 4 clients loved it (the other 2 don’t love soup).

The herb amounts are approximate – I just dumped some in. I would like to try it again with fresh ginger and mint, if they are available. All that was available was fresh basil. Don’t put too much in at a time and adjust to taste, and you’ll have a personalized soup.

I used frozen corn, but the original recipe called for cooking ears of corn before doing anything else.

Ingredients

1 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
8 scallions, sliced
2 tsp. ground ginger
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp. dried mint
32 oz. vegetable broth
1 ½ cups corn
2 red potatoes

Directions

Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot. Add the onions, scallion, ginger, basil, and mint, and sauté. Add the vegetable broth, then the corn and potatoes. Cook for about 30 minutes or until corn and potatoes are cooked.

Makes 8 servings.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I tinkered with the Cranberry-Orange Muffin recipe again and made blueberry muffins at the request of a client who isn’t crazy about cranberries (not that I can blame her – cranberries are rather tart). I again used agave nectar in place of sugar and tried using unsweetened applesauce instead of vegetable oil. It made for a denser muffin, but it was still tasty. I imagine this version would be great for those who are trying to cut back on their fat intake – if they can avoid dousing the muffins with butter before they eat them.

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup blueberries (1 dry pint)

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease or spray the bottoms of the cups with some kind of shortening.

Mix milk, applesauce, egg, agave nectar, baking powder, and salt well in a large bowl (I used a wire whisk). Add the flour and mix just until moistened (I used a wooden spoon). Fold in the blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 12 servings.

POTATO AND CARROT OVEN FRIES

This is a big hit at work, and I kind of wing it with a drizzle of this and a drizzle of that. You really can do what you want with this one, and you can adjust quantities of potatoes and carrots to match the number of people you are serving. You can use whatever herb blend you have on hand. This may be good with fresh herbs. The important thing is to cut the carrots and potatoes to somewhere close to the same size, so they cook at the same rate.

4 out of 4 clients gave this a thumbs up.

Ingredients

Carrots, cut into sticks.
Potatoes, cut into sticks.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Balsamic vinegar (if I get a hold of malted vinegar, I’ll try that)
McCormick Perfect Pinch Vegetable herb blend
Olive oil cooking spray

Directions

Place carrot and potato sticks into a large bowl. Drizzle on some EVOO and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle on some herb blend. Toss until the vegetables are well coated. Spray some cooking spray on a baking sheet or two (depending on how many fries you are making). Spread the potatoes and carrots onto the baking sheet(s). Bake at 350 degrees until vegetables are cooked (I made tiny fries and it took an hour to cook; your oven may cook differently).