Cooking for Seven

Hello all! Today is Friday, one of my favorite days of week.

It’s just meant for good times with friends & staying up way too late.

On this lovely Friday, I’m giving away a $30 coupon to Frigidaire Accessories. There you can find kitchen gadgets, cleaners, cutlery, cookware, and more!

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Here’s how you can enter to win:

1) (Mandatory) Leave a comment on this post describing you favorite kitchen gadget.

2) For extra entries, subscribe via RSS or email. Make sure to come back and leave another comment for each entry. If you’re already subscribed, just tell me that.

3) For extra entries, follow me on Twitter or “like” me on Facebook. Make sure to come back and leave another comment for each entry.

4) For another extra entry, blog or tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to come back and leave another comment with a link to your post.

Giveaway ends January 28 at 10:00 p.m. Central. Using random.org I will choose one winner.

Good luck!

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Sometimes I just want to bake something simple yet flavorful; sometimes I need to bake something that doesn’t require exotic ingredients. Like this bread.

You are almost certain to have everything needed for this recipe in your house right now. And if you don’t have exactly the right ingredients (as I did not) you can safely and easily make a substitution.

This bread tastes like a mixture of a quick bread and cinnamon swirl bread. Because it is impractical to swirl cinnamon in a wet batter, bits of butter are mixed with cinnamon and folded into the batter. This creates little pockets of buttery cinnamon goodness.

Notes:

Going with my usual substitutions, I used half whole wheat flour in place of all purpose. Also, since I didn’t have any “solid” natural sweeteners on hand, I used maple syrup and added an additional 1/4 cup of flour to compensate.

Having no buttermilk in the house, I used 3/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup milk instead.

I thought the bread was a little salty. Next time I will probably reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. I also think the bread could benefit from a dose of nuts — say, toasted pecans.

Cinnamon Bread

Adapted from eat make read

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (hard white or soft white)
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used 3/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup milk)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 Tablespoons butter, chilled & cut into small pieces
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, combine buttermilk, butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

3) In yet another small bowl, work butter and cinnamon into pea-sized pieces. Gently fold cinnamon butter into the batter. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

4) Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I had to bake mine for an additional 10 minutes or so). Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn bread out onto the rack and allow to cool. Serve with butter and a tall glass of cold milk.

Makes one large loaf

Having lived in Minnesota my whole life, I’ve become quite accustomed to temperatures that dip well below freezing for months on end; to drifts of snow several feet high. Do I bemoan my fate and pine for summer? Not at all!

I love being able to stand by the fire, pull on warm socks & sweaters, and enjoy a bowl of steaming soup.

Here’s a recipe that’s sure to keep you cozy. Not only by it’s thermal heat - the spicy jalapeño peppers will keep your taste buds hopping!

Notes: I added my own spin to this recipe. We had some fresh ginger in the refrigerator, so I added a tablespoon or so. I thought the amount of spicy heat was perfect, but if you prefer a milder flavor simply leave out the jalapeño peppers and reduce the amount of curry powder.

The original recipe suggest that you serve the soup with jasmine rice. The soup was wonderful on its own, though I would like to try it with rice or rice noodles.

Coconut & Chicken Curry Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Katie Goodman

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1/2 of a large onion, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk, full fat
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 small green bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 cup unsweetened chipped coconut
• 2 cups freshly cooked jasmine rice (optional)

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Add the chicken to the oil, season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until cooked through and golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Sauté the onion, adding more oil if necessary, until tender.

2) Return the chicken to the pot with the onions. Add the ginger; cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, curry powder and jalapeno. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add bell pepper and cilantro and simmer an additional 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Optional: Spoon rice into 4 bowls. Top with a ladle or two of soup. Garnish with additional cilantro and a sprinkling of shredded coconut. Serve.

Makes approximately 6 servings