Thayer in the Kitchen

Some time ago I posted a recipe for Cream of Broccoli Soup on the blog.  At that time I was still looking for an even better recipe.  This recipe that I found on Mel's Kitchen Café website is excellent.  Give it a try when you've got a bunch of broccoli and are craving a warm thick comforting soup.  The author said it was hearty and delicious.  I also like this soup because it has other vegetables besides the broccoli and I'm all about using vegetables! 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots, diced small 1 cup chopped celery, diced small 3 cups chopped potatoes, diced small 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 4-5 cups coarsely chopped broccoli; peel the outside of the tough stalks before using 4-6 slices bacon, chopped 3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup flour 3 cups milk (I used 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 half and half) 3-4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese   1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard In a ...

This  is a very good vegetarian recipe using Delicata Squash.  I loved it!  I'm not sure Arthur did, but he ate it--just not with as much enthusiasm as I did. The recipe calls for a variety of nuts.  Some of which I had and others I didn't.  Just use 1 1/3 cups of whatever nuts you have on hand.  A variety is nice but probably not essential.  3 tablespoons butter 1 medium yellow onions, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or fresh thyme leaves or a combination of both     1/3 cup chopped walnuts 1/3 cup chopped pistachios 1/3 cup chopped almonds 1/3 cup pine nuts 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (you can also substitute sour cream)     2 eggs, lightly beaten About 1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese 2 D e...

We got a bunch of radishes in our first CSA box of the season which had the radish greens with the radishes.  The radish tops were much too nice to just toss into the compost.  I found this recipe for Radish Top Soup on allrecipes.com that I adapted.  It is a tasty soup that's very easy to make.  Another use for the green tops are in green smoothies.  I tried it today with a another bunch of radish tops that I had.  I used the greens (about 2 cups), 1 cup each of mango and pineapple (frozen), 2 bananas and some vanilla almond milk.  The greens added color but didn't change the flavor of the fruit. 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil 1 cup (approx.) chopped onions 3 green onions or you could use 1 or 2 green garlic stalks 3/4 cup chopped celery 2 medium potatoes, coarsely chopped 4 cups raw radish greens (if you don't have enough you could add turnip tops or spinach) 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth 1/3 cup heavy cream (or...

I found this recipe in the magazine Midwest Living and made it for dinner. Arthur loved it and said he wanted me to save it in my blog so that I could make it again.  Typically I make a recipe once and unless it is really good I throw it away.  With so many recipes available it is hard to keep track of the really good ones which is one of the purposes of my blog. This one is interesting because the vegetables are made into vegetable ribbons and serve as a bed for the salmon.  The salmon steams on top of the vegetables and remains very moist. 1 lemon 1 medium zucchini 1 medium yellow summer squash 2 medium carrots, peeled 1/4 teaspoon salt 1-1 1/4# s almon fillets (if the salmon has skin it can easily be removed after cooking) 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2...

This very simple recipe is a favorite of my 11 year old grandson.  Who would have thought it! 1/4 or less red onion or yellow onion, finely chopped or chopped green onions  1 1/2 cups frozen corn (no need to cook) 1 can drained & rinsed black beans 1/4 cup or more roughly chopped cilantro 1 can Ro*tel tomatoes with green chilies or any available brand Juice of 1 lime (or lemon) Salt to taste 1/4 t. black pepper 1/4 t. ground cumin 1/8 t. cayenne pepper (optional)   Mix it all together and allow to sit for 30 minutes for the corn to defrost and the flavors to blend.  Serve with corn or taco chips.    The quantities are all adjustable to suit your own tastes. Adapted from Ten Dollar Dinners on the Food Network

This recipe is a great way to use a substantial amount of rhubarb.  I made it for my book club when the meeting was at our place and everyone really liked it.  There is one caveat--the recipe uses a cake mix!  I never use store bought cake mixes but did make an exception with this recipe.  You could probably use homemade yellow cake batter, but I caved in and used a cake mix.  The three yellow cake mixes receiving the best reviews were: King Arthur Flour All-Natural Golden Vanilla Cake Mix - I think this is only available through the King Arthur catalogue Betty Crocker SuperMoist Golden Vanilla Cake Mix (reviewed well on Good Housekeeping.com; this is the one I used) Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix (reviewed the best on Epicurious) 1 yellow cake mix 5 cups chopped raw rhubarb 1 cup sugar (or a bit less) 1 pint heavy whipping cream (2 cups) Additional whipping cream for serving Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cake mix ...

I love sweet potato soup.  I wanted to try this recipe because I had spinach from the farmers market as well as a jar of harissa.  Harissa is also known as Tunisian chili paste. This spice mixture originated in Tunisia. It contains chilies, cumin, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds, cinnamon, olive oil and sometimes tomatoes.  The harissa that I have is quite hot.  The first time I used it, my husband said he couldn't eat the dish.  I didn't think it was quite that hot, but now I use less then the recipe calls for and add more after tasting.  This recipe originally called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of harissa.  I cut it in half and used 2 teaspoons.  Your harissa may not be as hot as mine or you may have a higher tolerance than Arthur. 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (about 2 cups) 3 tbsp tomato paste 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter (chunky is OK too) 2 teaspoons harissa paste (read...