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Maple Pecan Blondies

Here’s a blondie recipe that I have made many times!  Mine are never as gooey as Gemma’s and that’s probably because I over-bake them. I should keep a better eye on them next time. I like to brown the butter first but it’s not necessary. Enjoy!  Maple Pecan Blondies Makes 9-12 servings Original recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking Ingredients ¾ cup butter, melted or browned 1¼ cups dark brown sugar ½ cup maple syrup 1 large egg  2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon baking soda I ¼ cups pecans, toasted and chopped  Directions   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9x13” baking pan with parchment. Gemma used 8x8 but I like my bars thinner. Whisk together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the flour and baking soda just until combined.  Stir in the pecans. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. They middle should be slightly jiggly but they still taste yummy if you over-bake them. Allow to co

Mushroom and Barley Ragout

Here's a recipe I took from a book I got for Mother's Day (2010). The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook by Judith Finlayson.

Lentils are so meaty and filling, and you can replace the butter with a vegan option to make this a recipe vegan friendly. 


Mushroom and Barley Ragout
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
  • 1 cup dry whole barley
  • 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 tablespoon butter (or dairy-free butter, or olive oil)
  • 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoon ginger, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
  • 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
  • finely chopped green onions for garnish
Directions
  1. For barley: Add 1 cup barley to rapidly boiling water. Cover and reduce heat. Cook until barley is tender, about 50 minutes or longer. Yields 3 cups of cooked barley.
  2. In a bowl, combine dried shiitake mushrooms with hot water. Stir well. Let stand for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving mushrooms and liquid separately. Pat mushrooms dry, remove stems and chop finely.
  3. Meanwhile, in a deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to release liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
  4. Add oil to pan and heat for 30 seconds. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, peppercorns and 5 spice powder and coo, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in shiitake and fresh mushrooms. Add barley and lentils and stir well. Stir in stock and reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a boil Reduce heat to low.
  5. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.
  6. Stir in soy sauce. Garnish with green onions.

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