Wine & Plum

Kosher for Passover, delicious anytime!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 10 oz good-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup butter
• mint springs and assorted berries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 F. Grease a 10″ springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt with a whisk. Add eggs and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Add 1/3 of chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated; repeat with remaining 2/3 of chocolate.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes until just set but still soft in the center. Let cool completely.
5. Sift confectioner’s sugar over the top of the cake. Garnish with mint and berries.

Not as good as Ms. Cindy’s authentic Louisiana gumbo, but since she would never share her recipe with me, this will have to do. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 1 tsp seasoning
• 1/2 lb andouille sausage
• 1 1/2 T butter
• 2 ribs celery
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T pepper sauce
• 2 T flour
• 2 c stock
• 1 1/2 c okra
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 T fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 scallions, sliced at an angle

Directions:

1. Head butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add celery, pepper, onion, bay leaf. Season to taste. Cook 3-5 minutes.
2. Add flour and cook 2 more minutes.
3. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add okra, shrimp, and sausage. Stir in tomatoes and half the thyme. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Season to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with thyme and scallions.

Super healthy soup has a creamy texture without using any dairy.

From Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 medium leeks, green parts discarded and white parts washed and chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 c stock
• 2 T fresh basil, chopped
• 2-3 c fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1-2 c cooked chicken

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic, leeks, and zucchini. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add 1 cup stock/broth. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add basil and the rest of the stock/broth. Puree until smooth.
4. Stir in spinach and chicken. Cook 4-5 minutes.

Potluck classic!

Ingredients

• 8 oz elbow pasta, cooked al dente
• 1 12-oz can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) melted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 10-oz packages cheddar cheese, shredded (about 5 c)
• paprika

Directions

1. Mix pasta, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt and pepper, eggs, and all but 1/2 c shredded cheese in the slow cooker. Sprinkle reserved cheese and then paprika over top.
2. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Excellent for brunch or really any time!

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 10 T cold butter, cubed
• 1/3 c ice water

Filling

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c parmesan, shredded
• 2 cloves minced garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. For the crust: Pulse flour and spices together in food processor until mixed; add cold butter and pulse until it creates crumbs. Drizzle cold water and pulse until the dough comes together. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate 1 hour to 2 days.
2. In a large pot, bring the sweet potatoes to boil in salted water. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 50 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; remove peels.
3. In a small bowl, stir together milk and olive oil; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat sweet potatoes and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk mixture, eggs, parmesan, and garlic until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll dough and press into pie pan. Pour filling into crust. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool about 5 minutes, and serve hot.

This delicious puréed soup is excellent as a side or a meal. I’ve played around with the recipe a couple times, and it always comes out easy and yummy and very lemony. So it’s pretty flexible if you want to make a few edits of your own.

In general, I change the original recipe to chicken stock (instead of vegetable broth) and add chickpeas for more protein. I also leave out cream/milk because it’s plenty thick on its own. Also, the first time I made it, I was pregnant and I had run out of milk thanks to my chocolate milk craving, but that’s just coincidence. ;)

Other times, I’ve added extra ginger, which is my favorite, pregnant or not. I’ve also added pumpkin purée when I had about 257 cups of it in the freezer after my adventure in pumpkin roasting. Once I did carrots plus a few parsnips. So yeah, feel free to edit the recipe to suit your needs and tastes. For example, it’s super easy to make this vegan if you so desire. It’s hard to mess this one up, and other than the time it takes to chop up a bunch of veggies, it’s straightforward and fast.

I had mine with a couple slices of baguette, a hunk of cheese, and bacon crumbled on top. Enjoy!

Lemony Carrot Soup

1/4 C butter or coconut oil
1 1/2 C chopped onion
1 T chopped or minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp (~3 cloves) chopped or minced garlic
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
zest of 1 lemon (about 1.5 tsp)
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 T, reserved)
4 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo peas), drained and rinsed

Heat butter/oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the ginger and garlic; cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the carrots, tomatoes, and grated lemon peel; stir well and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and the chickpeas, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender — about 20 minutes.

Blend well with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

OMG this pie is so wonderful. It’s like a chocolate chip cookie pie. But the texture is super soft and amazing. My mom said it reminded her of a 7-layer magic bar. Everyone has their own version of this classic chocolate nut pie, but apparently there’s an official one.

I got my recipe from a book club friend. She had brought her delicious derby pie to book clubs and gatherings a few times, and I told her I really needed the recipe for myself.

For Pi Day last weekend, I made two derby pies and a savory sweet potato pie. One of the derby pies was the classic recipe I’ll share below. For the other one, I substituted pecans for walnuts and I replaced half the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips. Both versions were amazing and received lots of compliments. Feel free to play around with the fillings for yours!

Derby Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the crust: Mix together flour, oil, milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt. Knead and mix with your hands until it comes together evenly. Spread mixture into a 9″ pie pan, pushing dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and butter; mix to combine. Stir in the Kahlua, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Another year has flown by! The older I get, the faster time flies, it seems. Every year seems a little shorter and a little shorter.

Tomorrow, I’m meeting up with some of my book club friends to discuss hopes, dream, and goals for 2014, so after Wednesday, it’s all about looking forward. So before we dive into 2014, I thought I’d do a little round-up of highlights and tops from the past year.

Top Blog Posts of 2013

Y’all have a wide variety of tastes here — I’m impressed with your (relatively) balanced diet! One breakfast, one entree, one side, and two desserts. Delicious. Here are the most-viewed posts of 2013.

1. Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes  2. Apple Cheddar Squash Soup  3. Coconut Macaroon Cookies  4. Mini Cheesecake Bites  5. Summer Pasta Salad

Top Posts on Instagram

Wine & Plum joined Instagram in 2013! Here are a few of my top pics:

1. Salted Caramel & Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies  2. Honey souvenirs from my trip to Savannah in October  3. Stacks of books in my apartment, part of #FMSphotoaday  4. Fall leaves on the bridge in my neighborhood

Favorite Books of 2013

I joined a book club in late 2012, and it’s now been more than a whole year of reading with these lovely ladies. Here’s a few of my favorite books I read this year, some with the best book club ever, and some on my own. Check out my personal book reviews here.

1. The True History of Paradise by Margaret Cezair-Thompson  2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo  3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett  4. Lost by Gregory Maguire 

Etsy Favorites

I opened a Wine & Plum Etsy shop a couple months ago! I’m excited to feature stylish, affordable items handcrafted by yours truly. Right now I have hand-knit infinity scarves, earrings, and creaseless hair ties listed. Who knows what 2014 will bring! Here are a few of my favorite items.

1. Charcoal Chunky Knit Infinity Scarf  2. Blue Crystal Drop Earrings  3. Multi-color Creaseless Hair Ties  4. Navy & Ivory Knit Infinity Scarf

My Favorite Recipes of 2013

Here are my personal favorites from the past year. I highly recommend giving these recipes a try!

1. Biscoff Blondies  2. Milky Way Pecan Pie  3. ABC (Apple-Bacon-Cheddar) Sandwiches  4. Kale & White Bean Soup   5. Cheesy Spinach & Tomato Pie

Personal Highlights of 2013

Let’s see, where to start…

• My brother got married! I had a blast planning their wedding and preparing a lot of DIY decorations. And my new sister-in-law is so amazing and sweet!
• The BF and I took a summer vacation to Austin, Texas, which was awesome. Oh, the tacos! We’d love to go back!
• We celebrated our first married anniversary and sixth together anniversary with a trip to Asheville, NC, this fall. Always one of our favorite places to visit.
• My baby sister went off to college! Exciting and heartbreaking and scary and wonderful.
• My big annual work event broke new fundraising records, which I’m super excited, pleased, and grateful for.

And that’s it! Thanks for taking the time to look back on 2013 with me!

Happy New Year!

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderfully Creative Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove
Foodie Friday from Simple Living & Eating

Week 5 report…

Goal 1: Cook at home most nights of the week: FAIL

Complete fail. But we’re starting a spring CSA tomorrow, so I’m going to have to start cooking. I’ll have a load of fresh produce sitting in my kitchen. Tomorrow I’m going to get the first delivery of my weekly box from the Community Nutrition Partnership. This week, we’ll receive 1 bunch of Collard Greens, 1 head of Cabbage, 1 lbs of Carrots, 2 Apples, 1 lb of Sunburst Tomatoes, and 1 bunch of Kale. I don’t eat many greens other than spinach, and I’ve never been a fan of collards, cabbage, or kale, so we’ll see how this goes. I’m thinking of making a kale and white bean soup or maybe some green smoothies.

Goal 2: Have a max of 4 non-water drinks per week: SUCCESS

I’m pretty certain it’s just 4. Could have been 5, but I think just 4.

Goal 3: Practice yoga once a week and take a walk at least once a week: HALF SUCCESS

I didn’t walk at all — the weather was bad. I did make it to yoga though, which I’m particularly proud of because I was reallllly feeling like sitting on the couch and watching a movie that day.

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Don’t forget to check out the hosts of Resolutions in Motion: Shaping Up to Be a Mom, Covered in Grace, Ramblings of a Southern Belle, and Craftbotic. Visit any of their pages to link up your resolutions post.