Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
This was my first Thanksgiving where I took care of all of the food. It was terrifying and thrilling all at once. And though I bought a relatively small turkey, we still ended up with an obscene amount of leftovers. Is anyone out there in the same boat? So of course for a couple of days I ate a ton of turkey sandwiches which, let’s be honest, is actually better than the turkey that you eat at Thanksgiving dinner. But then by Monday here, I was ready to be done with turkey. So to finish off the rest of the meat sitting in my fridge, I made my favorite soup, but with turkey instead of chicken. And seriously, it was so quick and easy and amazingly delicious.
Sourdough seedy crackers
Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I’m sure by now you’ve all figured out what you’re making for side dishes, desserts, bread, and turkey (or some other option), but I hadn’t thought about appetizers until last night. Maybe I’m the only one that forgets stuff like this. This is our first Thanksgiving in our own home, so it was enough for me to think about the stars of the show. So to be prepared for the pre-feast hangries, I whipped up some of my favorite super healthy, super filling, super tasty crackers and have some cheese ready.
Rustic Whole Wheat Sourdough Loaf
This recipe is very similar to my previous white sourdough loaf. But a few of the measurements and techniques are a little bit different because it’s made with whole wheat flour instead of white all-purpose flour.
Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
It’s National Homemade Bread Day! Let’s celebrate! And what’s more homemade than a loaf made with a home-grown sourdough starter? One of my go-to breads that I (try to) make at least weekly is a basic 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.
Sourdough Whole Wheat Pancakes
I have a sweet-tooth of a husband who loves his pancakes, waffles, French toast and German pancakes, but I’m not a big sweet breakfast girl and therefore rarely make them. So on occasion, my sweetheart gets up in the morning before me, lets me sleep in (bless him for that), and makes a massive batch of (really spectacularly delicious, and that’s saying a lot coming from me) good old fashioned white pancakes and he and the kids load them with butter and syrup and I feel groggy after one or two. So I’ve been stewing. There’s gotta be a better way. I needed to learn to make a healthy pancake that was actually healthy.
Homemade Chicken Broth and Stock
I love this time of year. When the air gets really crisp but we still have a lot of days of sunshine, and I just want to make a big pot of soup and a loaf of crusty bread for dinner every night. The funny thing is, I used to hate soup. I remember complaining as a teenager that soup wasn’t a real meal, because … well, I don’t remember why I said that, actually. And then one day my sister made this amaaaaaaazing creamy chicken noodle soup, and I was sold. First of all, cream. Am I right? And second, she made her own broth. For meals as simple and basic and everybody-has-a-good-recipe as chicken noodle soup, you need to start with quality ingredients. And we all know from the title of my blog that I’m just a little bit passionate about making food from scratch. There are a few reasons for that:
- Homemade food just tastes better.
- It’s so much less expensive to make things yourself.
- I get to control what I put into my food.
- And, I guess I’m one of those weirdos that actually really thinks it’s fun.
Next time you’re thinking of buying a can or carton, read the ingredient list. I’m quite happy with my 4-5 ingredient list of real food + water, thank you very much.
Beginner’s Rustic Sourdough Loaf
As promised, here is my beginner’s recipe for sourdough bread. It’s gloriously simple, has 4 ingredients (including water and salt, which barely count as ingredients), and has a very impressive result with minimal work. It’s easy enough for a beginner, but beautiful and delicious enough for anyone.
Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Here it is. I’m going to talk about my relatively new obsession of baking bread with a sourdough starter. I’m still kind of a newbie at this, but I don’t buy bread from the store, bake my own loaves a few times a week, and have had several successes. And now that I’m getting the barely-gripping-with-my-baby-sized-fingertips hang of this, and don’t use commercial yeast anymore, I think it’s time I share my sourdough story.
Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Last time I showed you how to make your pumpkin purée, which will work wonderfully in your usual pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins. But today I’m going to show you a completely different way to use it that is super delicious and also super simple. And completely from scratch.
Homemade Pumpkin Purée
I was never a fan of winter squash growing up. I can’t really explain why. But 2 years ago, I was asked by a friend to teach a little class on pumpkin recipes for a group of women at my church, and I was apprehensive but accepted the challenge. I hadn’t really considered that there was a whole lot more to those Autumnal flavors than pumpkin pie and overly brown-sugared butternut squash. But as I researched and experimented, I discovered a whole world of varieties and flavors beyond the tried and true cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg combo and was completely smitten.
