Apple-Walnut Cake - Janel

Apple-Walnut Cake

This thick cake is similar to pound cake.

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs or 1/2 cup soft silken tofu
3 Tbsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 cups diced apples

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (190 C).
• In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, eggs or tofu, and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the oil-and-sugar mixture and stir by hand, approximately 200 strokes, until it is thoroughly mixed. Fold in the walnuts and apples.
• The batter will be stiff. Pour it into a greased and floured 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.
• Bake the cake at 350°F (190 C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Mussels with Belgian Beer - Shannen

Mussels with Belgian Beer

Ingredients:
2 tbsp of butter
2 finely minced cloves of garlic
1 tsp of curry
2 lbs of mussels
1/4 of finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup of hoegaarden
1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley
1 cup of heavy cream
Fresh ground pepper


Method:
Melt butter; add shallots, garlic and curry and saute for about 3 mins. Keep
temperature about medium high. Add mussels and grind pepper generously to
likening.

Pour beer and cream over the mussels, cover, and steam for about 5-8 mins (or
longer if you have more than 5 lbs) if you have more than 4lbs to cook, divide
into portions to cook faster otherwise it gets really difficult to get them all
turned and steamed). Shake pot a few times as they steam (or stir them) to make
sure that everyone gets the heat. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Serve with either bread or fresh French fries.

Broccoli & Cauliflower soup - Janel

1 head of broccoli - roughly chopped, no stems
1 head of cauliflower - roughly chopped, no stems
2-3 cups potatoes, 1-in cubes
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
water to cover

put everything together in pot and let it come to a rolling boil. let it gently
boil until you can easily spear the veggies with a fork. take off the hob to
blitz until smooth

add 1 cup shredded cheese and 1 piece of mozzarella broken into pieces.

salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin soup - Marie

Cut a well washed butternut squash into about 8-10 large chunks. Remove the seeds but don't peel it. Put the pieces in water (2-3 times as much water as pumpkin) and bring to the boil then cover and turn down the heat. Simmer until the squash is soft. Leave to get cold with the lid on the pot. I usually do the preparation to this point the day before.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, simply slip the skin off each piece by hand. Discard the skin and return the flesh to the cooking water.

In a separate pan, melt a tiny bit of butter or use about 1 tsp water to saute 2 chopped onions. You honestly don't need any more liquid/fat than that. The onions only need to be softened, not brown. Put the onions in with the squash, add a stock cube and salt (I never bother with salt as the stock cube is plenty salty enough for me), some freshly ground black pepper and some dried herbs and/or freshly grated nutmeg if you like them. (I usually add some nutmeg during the cooking process and fresh herbs at the end - rosemary is nice).

Reheat and there you are - soup to die for. You can regulate the thickness of the soup by how much water you use. As a rule of thumb I estimate that I cover the raw squash to about 1.5 times the height of the squash in the saucepan. If you like a smooth soup you can blend it but I never bother. The pumpkin/squash flesh tends to fall apart when it's cooking anyway and I prefer the texture with a few 'chewy' bits. If you chop the onions fairly small you won't need to worry about blending the soup if you don't want to. We have this soup with fresh herbs as a garnish and a crusty bread roll to go with it. A perfect winter meal.

Of course this is a really basic recipe and you can add as many of your own touches as you like - stir in some grated cheese at the end, swirl in some sour cream/creme fraiche, serve with croutons, experiment with different herbs (a garnish of either parsley or cilantro/coriander is delicious) or spices.

I hope this helps you a bit and hopefully I haven't left out anything really important. The recipe exists only in my head so I can't give you formal quantities or a method.

Chicken 'n Spinach Noodle Doodle: Valerie

Chicken 'n Spinach Noodle Doodle:
>
> Yield: 2
>
> Prep Time: 20 minutes
>
> Cooking Time: 10 minutes
>
> Ingredients:
>
> ● 175 grams egg noodles
> ● 1 tbsp sunflower oil
> ● 2 small chicken breasts, thinly sliced
> ● 1 bunch spring onions, halved widthways
> ● 1 clove garlic , sliced
> ● 100 grams chestnut mushrooms, sliced
> ● 1.5 tsp peppercorns, crushed
> ● 3 tbsp oyster sauce
> ● 200 ml chicken stock
> ● 100 grams spinach leaves, cut into strips, removing tough stalks
> ● salt & pepper
> ● 1.5 tsp peppercorns, crushed
> ● 2 tbsp oyster sauce
>
> Directions:
>
> 1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain well and keep warm.
> Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the chicken slices, season and cook
> over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until browned. Add the spring onions, garlic,
> mushrooms and crushed peppercorns and cook, stirring for 2 mintues.
>
> 2. Add the oyster sauce and stock to pan, stirring to heat through. Add the spinach
> leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes until just wilted. Stir and season with salt, then serve
> on bed of noodles.
>
> Per Serving: cals 562; fat 17g
>

Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry - Niki

INGREDIENTS
1 (3 ounce) package chicken flavored ramen noodles
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflowerets
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup coarsely chopped cabbage
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh or canned bean sprouts
1/2 cup teriyaki or soy sauce

DIRECTIONS
Set aside seasoning packet from noodles. Cook noodles according to
package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, stir-fry
chicken in oil for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Add
vegetables; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Drain noodles; add to the pan with contents of seasoning packet and
the teriyaki sauce. Stir well. Serve immediately.

Broccoli/Corn Casserole - Martha

Broccoli/Corn Casserole

1 can cream style corn (which I had bought at a toko in A'dam last week)

1/2 pkg of frozen broccoli (I used fresh and just steamed it for awhile)

2 eggs beaten

2 T flour

2 T Sugar

1/2 t salt

1/4 cup of shredded cheese

Beat the eggs and add the other ingredients. Pour into a greased casserole (1 qt) and bake for 1 hr. at 175c.