Zuppa Toscana

The other night, Keith was checking Facebook and he ran across a recipe. He shared it with me and said you should make this. We have most of the ingredients and it looks really good! I have seen this recipe go around Facebook for a while now and figured it did look good and super easy. So yesterday I browned the sausage and threw it in the crock pot and waited to try it for dinner. I was glad it turned out so well. Even my boys ate it all out of their bowls and they don't normally eat Spinach and potatoes. So I am sharing the recipe with you in case you haven't seen it on Facebook. It is a good soup!

Zuppa Toscana
1 lb Italian sausage( I used our fresh made bear Italian sausage)
4-6 potatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
1/4 cup bacon
2 TBSP minced garlic
32 oz ( 4 cups) chicken broth
1 cup Kale/ Swiss Chard/ Spinach chopped(I used frozen spinach and it worked great too)
1 cup heavy whipping cream(I used evaporated milk)
2 TBSP flour
Brown sausage. Place sausage in Slow cooker. add potatoes, garlic, and broth. (If you need a little more water to cover the meat and potatoes add some. I didn't need any more. Cook on high for 3-4 hours low 6-7 hours till potatoes are soft. 30 minutes before serving, mix cream and flour together. Remove all lumps. Pour into slow cooker and mix in well. Add Kale stir. Cook on high 30 more minutes till thickens, Add salt, pepper and Cayenne for flavor. Enjoy!

Garam Masala Seared Salmon with Coconut Curry Butter

Salmon for dinner again? Of course, I live in Alaska! I have never been a big fish eater, maybe because of all my growing up years were spend in a land locked country of Zambia and the only fish we had access to was dried Kapenta. That in itself, is probably the reason I have never been fond of fish. (Kapenta is a small minnow like fish that the Zambian dry and you eat.) But fish is growing on me. Here in Galena, Salmon is a normal thing to find at any potluck and get together. You can have smoked, baked, salmon dip, salmon strips, dried salmon strips. All kinds of different ways to eat salmon. Since living here, I am learning and trying new recipes to cook salmon. I discovered this recipe and my family has added this to my book of favorites! It is delicious! I grew up eating A LOT of curry so this one fits right in! The Garam Masala Seared Salmon can be eaten as plate on its own. It is really good! I have made the fish with out the curry sauce and put them in tortillas for a delicious tasting taco too. The Garam Masala is what gives this dish the awesome flavor. Serve it up with some Naan and Rice..... Wala you have a wonderful curry dish!  I am sure you can use other fish for this recipe.

Garam Masala Seared Salmon with Coconut Curry Butter
3/4 cup dry white wine (I didn't have this I used Apple juice)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 TBSP curry powder
1 cup COLD unsalted butter( I only had salted butter) cut into pieces
Kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 fillets of Salmon
2 TBSP garam Masala
Kosher salt to taste

Pour wine, cream, and coconut milk into saucepan. season with curry powder. Bring to a light boil over Medium heat. Then reduce to medium low and simmer till reduced to about 1 cup. About 10 minutes. When reduced turn to low and add butter. whisk in till all butter is melted and mixed well. DO NOT let it boil or it will separate.  Season to taste with salt and set aside. Keep warm.

For Salmon, (I had to fillet the skin off and since I am NOT good at filleting fish, they ended up in chunks but I liked it that way better for the curry and Rice. So you can either use fillets or chunks.

Heat oil in saute pan over medium high heat. while oil is heating, season fish with garam masala and salt.  Place in oil. sear for 3-4 minutes on each side till done. Drain on paper towel. Serve with curry butter and rice. Enjoy!

Blueberry Pound Cake

I first got this recipe when we lived in Florida and would go to a Pick-your-own Blueberry farm. We would buy them but the tub that you would pick. DELICIOUS! I love blueberries! And pound cakes! I would make this cake a lot for any get together that we had. It was a hit, if I could get it out the door without my husband and I taking some bites!  I have not made this in a while because this is one recipe that CAN NOT be used with Egg-replacer, that I have to use for Kaden. With out eggs this cake is left flat and dense. But since we had a great year for Alaskan blueberries this year, I made one for when we had dinner a few weeks ago. I made a different dessert for Kaden but this cake turned out terrific! If you like pound cake and Blueberries you better try it!

Blueberry Pound Cake
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup flour to dredge berries in
2 cups blueberries(fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time till light and fluffy. add vanilla.
Sift 2 cups flour, salt, baking powder together then add them to creamed ingredients. Beat well. Drege Blueberries in about 1/2 cup flour.  This helps them not smash when you are folding them in. I have found that frozen berries work better because they don't get smashed when stirring them into the batter. Fold the berries in to mixture. Grease bundt pan and pour batter in Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Use a tooth pick to check if the middle is done. Let cool in pan about 10 minutes. Flip onto plate let cool. Sprinkle with powder sugar or make a glaze for the top.

Maandazi

Today is my beloved Zambia's Independence day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAMBIA!! They got their independence from Britain in 1964. To make today even more fun, I get to go talk about Zambia in Ms. Debbie's Geography club! I am super excited. Maybe because I love Zambia so much and for one hour kids are required to listen to stories about something near and dear to my heart. That kind of sounds like they are trapped in the class, but hopefully with the food and cool artifacts they get to touch and hold that they get some excitement about the world around them.  I hope they enjoy it.  Anyway, this has NOTHING to do with my recipe but I wanted to wish Zambia a happy birthday!

Today in Geography Club I am bringing a Kenyan doughnut called a Mandazi. Zambian food would be a little hard to transport and a bit messy to eat in class so  even though Mandazis are not eaten in Zambia we do have a similar thing called a Frita and that is what I am bringing. They are easy to make and wonderful to dunk in Kenyan Chai, which I am also bringing. Basically Chai is REALLY sweet tea that is made with milk instead of water. I add a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon to give  more flavor. My friend, Michelle, was the inspiration for todays recipe since she is making a Kenyan meal for dinner and asked else to make with it. I suggested Mandazis so here is the Recipe. Mine have been sampled and approved but my husband and my boys.

Mandazis
2 cups flour(or more if it is sticky)
2 tsp Baking Powder
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs and milk and mix well. If it is sticky, which mine have been every time I add about 1/2 a cup to 1 cup more of flour. You want it to be a soft dough ball but not to sticky and easy to handle. On a floured surface roll out dough to about 1/2 inch. I use a pizza cutter and cut the dough into rows and then into squares. The fry in 350 degree oil till golden brown. After they cool a bit sprinkle with powder sugar.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala & Naan Bread

Indian food is one of my favorite kinds of food to eat. I love the spice and flavor of each dish. One of my favorite dishes to eat is Chicken Tikka Masala with Naan Bread. I have a few recipes for Chicken Tikka Masala but this one is a Slow Cooker one which you can put it in the pot in the morning and eat it for dinner. I love slow cooking. So today I am going to share the slow cooker version that I have enjoyed. And the Naan bread is DELICIOUS!!

Slow Cooker Tikka Masala
8 boneless chicken tenders(I think chicken thighs would be more juicy)
4 cloves garlic minced
1 onion diced
2 TBSP ginger
1 can tomato puree(29 oz)
1 1/2 cup yogurt( I used sour cream because I don't have yogurt)
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Graham Masala
1 TBSP cumin
1/2 TBSP parika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp black pepper
1-3 tsp cayene pepper.( I omit this because my boys don't like it too spicy)
2 bay leaves
1 cup heavy cream
3 TBSP corn starch

Cut chicken in cubes. Mix all the ingredients EXCEPT Bay leaf, Heavy cream and Corn Starch. Coat the chicken well. Put in crock pot, sprinkle the remaining spices on top of the chicken. Add bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. (4 hours on High) When done whisk together cream and corn starch. Pour in pot and stir gently. Cook 20 minutes more. Serve over Rice

Naan (Indian bread)
1 pk active dry ingredients
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 egg beaten ( I use egg replacer and it works great!)
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cup bread flour
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes till frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt. Add cups of  flour till forms soft dough. Knead 6-8 minutes till smooth. Place dough in well oiled bowl, cover with damp cloth, set aside to rise. 1 hour. Punch down dough and knead in garlic. Pinch off handfuls of dough about the size of golf balls. Roll into balls and place on tray. Cover with a towel and allow to rise. double in size about 30 minutes. Preheat the grill to medium high heat. (I use the Pancake griddle)After 30 minutes. Roll out balls into thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, cook 2-3 minutes on one side till puffy and light brown. Brush uncooked side with butter and turn over and cook. Brush cooked side with butter. Remove from grill.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Coconut Curry Bread

Even though I grew up in Zambia, went to a boarding school in Kenya, and traveled around many countries there are many places I have never been. So I am not the best one to judge an authentic dish unless I have been there, but I do judge my dishes by how many people think something is delicious. I am always up for new dishes and I love to try different foods from around the world. This year I decided to home school my son Kaden, who is in Kindergarten. So with school added to the list of things that have to be done in the day I went on a quest for easy slow cooker recipes. Something I can throw in the pot in the morning and let it be done by dinner. I am not big on testing out new recipes on friends until I have tried them myself, but so far it has worked out every time I have a new recipe to try,  someone show up for dinner. That is a common occurrence at my house. I usually even throw in extra just in case someone might drop by for dinner. Totally fine with me. I love having people over. Maybe that is because that  is the way my Mom and Dad raised me. My house is always open and I like it that way. But with people dropping by, I don't have a lot of time to try out my new recipes, so my friends become my guinea pigs. So far I have quite a few that my family and friends have said "Wow this is good!" When my husband says "Add this to your favorite recipes and make it again" I do!  This recipe is one of the added to my favorites. Super easy and super tasty. Again I have never been to Morocco or tasted food from there so I can' not tell you if it is authentic or not, but it is delicious! I also made this Coconut Curry Bread that was gobbled up fast! I love the curry flavor that is baked into the bread. These two recipes compliment each other really well. Hope you enjoy this recipe.  

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Carrots- Sliced (I used about 4 big ones)
1 onion chopped
3-4 pounds chicken cut up  (I used chicken breast because that is what I have but thighs would work great and be more moist then just chicken breast.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins (I didn't have these so I used craisins)
2 TBSP flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
Put carrots and onions in crock pot. Sprinkle chicken with salt add to slow cooker. Top with apricots and raisins. In a small bowl combine flour and broth till smooth.whisk in tomato paste, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours till chicken is tender. Serve with couscous or rice. Serves about 6 people.


Coconut Curry Bread( FYI this is not a very sweet bread)

1 cup warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 cups bread flour
1 TBSP dry milk
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP butter
1/3 cup Raisins (Again I used Craisins because I don't have raisins)
1/3 cup coconut
2 tsp curry powder
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add remaining ingredients mix well. I use my Kitchen Aid. cover and Let rise in a oil coated pan till double in size. Then Put in greased loaf and let rise again. Bake at 375 till golden brown. I think this was about 15 minutes.

Flour Tortillas

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Mexican food! It has been a staple in our house growing up. Since Turkeys were not easy to find when we first moved to Zambia, every year on Christmas, Mom would have a HUGE get together and everyone would bring Mexican food. It was awesome! Enchiladas, soft tacos, queso, Soppapillas, or whatever people wanted to bring. And of course, everything was made from scratch. One of the things we were always in charge of making was tortillas. We had an electric press that would flatten and cook the tortilla dough all at the same time.  What I would do for a H.E.B. to go pick up a fresh pack of hot tortillas. But since I can't, I have added one of those to my kitchen appliances and use it quite often myself. It does make it a bit easier but rolling them out works OK too. Mom would make a lot of batches at one time and freeze them. I do the same because tortillas do freeze well. Plus the moment my husband and sons catch on to that fact that tortillas are being made in the kitchen it becomes a made dash to grab some. So in order to have some available for dinner, I have to double the batch. Plus we need a few for dessert. Hot tortillas with honey and cinnamon drizzled on top.... YUM can't be beat! So I am giving you the recipe from my mom, that has been tested in the bush for about 30 years!

Flour Tortillas
4-5 cups Flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 big Tablespoon shortening.( I use butter flavored)
2 cups warm water.
Mix 4 cups flour with salt, baking powder. Then cut in shortening till blended in good. then add water. Mix well. Roll into balls (about 20-30 )and let sit 10 minutes(this is very important). Roll out and cook. I have an electric tortilla press that presses and cooks them all at the same time. Works great!
~These freeze Great, with wax paper between about every 5.
~Our favorite way to eat these is with honey and cinnamon on them for dessert

Mom's Granola

Well it is a rainy, cool, Saturday and it is a bowl of cereal and cartoons kind of morning. I LOVE CEREAL! Lucky Charms, Captain crunch, Cookie Crisp, Cinnamon toast crunch. Yes a bowl of sugary goodness! But there is one cereal I love even more and it can always be different. You can change up or add ingredients to make this granola your own. My mom would always have this on hand, and speaking of on hand, it is a great snack to eat right out of your hand. With a cold bowl of milk this is one great bowl of cereal! Try it! You may never buy granola again.... I don't. This can be put in a jar and decorated with a pretty bow and makes a great WELCOME to the Neighborhood gift. Here in Galena, shopping for friends birthdays is a bit harder but homemade gifts are loved. This could be a great one to use.

Mom's Granola
Combine:
2 cups oats
1 cup coconut shredded.
1/2 cup wheat germ or sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cup nuts(chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts. I like to add a bunch of different ones.)
1 tsp salt
Stir in 1 can Sweetened Condensed milk. Mix thoroughly
Add 1/4 cup oil
Spread in shallow baking pan lined with wax paper. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees after golden brown take out of oven.

Don't add these before baking because they get tough and burn but after the oven I then add Craisins, Raisins, Dried apples, dried apricots, dried blueberries, dried peaches, or any other yummy dried fruit. You can add whatever ingredients you like in your bowl of cereal. Make it your bowl of cereal.

Salmon or Tuna Cakes

This recipe is one of my favorite lunch meals. It is super easy and delicious! When I have leftover salmon I use it for Salmon cakes. You can use Tuna or Salmon but Salmon is the most tastiest! I must admit that for this recipe I use boxed Stove Top Stuffing. Honestly it is because I HAVE NO IDEA how to make real dressing so I cheat. But one of these days I will figure out how to make real stuffing and when I do I will post a recipe. But until then I will use the box of stuffing and enjoy these little tasty cakes.

Salmon/ Tuna Cakes
2 cans Salmon/Tuna or about 2 cups of either.
1 box Stove-top Stuffing
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
1/3 cup mayo( I use Sour cream so Kaden can eat them)
2 TBSP Pickle Relish( If you don't have this you can omit this)
Bread crumbs
Oil
Cook Stuffing as on box. Mix Tuna, cooked stuffing, cheese, mayo, relish. Scoop about 1/4 cup mixture. Form into patties. Coat with bread crumbs and cook in a little bit of oil, till golden brown.

Salmon Chowder

If you made the pecan crusted Salmon and have left overs or even if you have some canned salmon, this recipe is really good to make. It is delicious and I NEVER have leftovers of it! The hard part for me about this recipe is getting all the fresh veggies that you put in this chowder. Fresh vegetables in the bush are not easy to come by. Usually Keith grows Zucchini, potatoes, carrots and bell peppers in the summer but due to the flood this year I have none of those. But I can omit some of those. But trust me you wouldn't want to unless you have to. All the flavors contribute to this chowder. But the rest of the recipe is easy to make. The flavor is wonderful and goes great with some garlic biscuits! This recipe is from my dear friend Wendy. Her husband is a teacher during the winter and a fisherman in the summer. He is out all summer with a crew catching salmon to be processed and sold to people. We love it when she brings this to potluck at the church. If you have any leftover salmon, make this it is delicious!

Salmon Chowder
1 can salmon(smoked or plain) or use about 1 cup cooked salmon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery( I omit this since I don't like it and in Galena I never have this on hand)
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
3 TBSP butter
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1 can evaporated milk(or heavy cream)
1 can cream style corn

Drain salmon and flake it. Saute onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until the vegetables are translucent. Add potatoes, carrots, chicken broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.Add zucchini and cook 5 minutes. Add Salmon, evaporated milk and corn. heat thoroughly. Serve. 4-6 servings

I serve this with my  Red Lobster biscuits. which are easy too.  I make the biscuits that are on the Bisquick box "drop biscuits" then I melt butter and some ranch powder together and brush on top. It is delicious!! I have a recipe for the home made Bisquick that I will post later on.

Pecan Crusted Salmon

Our internet has been down for the last weekend so I am behind a few post, but this week I am going to do a collection of Salmon recipes. Being on the Yukon river in Galena, we get a good amount of Salmon and fish. When we moved to Alaska, I collected so many recipes for salmon online, in cookbooks and where ever I could get them. Thinking that Salmon would be a nightly dish in our house, I wanted to have as many different recipes as I could get. But since we also get moose and we brought in our own chicken and pork, salmon was not the only food we eat. But it is a weekly meal in our house, so I like to test out new ones so we can have a change. Our favorite way to eat Salmon is Pecan Crusted Salmon. It is delicious! Plus when there is leftovers I have a few recipes that I will share this week of ways to use leftover salmon. But here is a simple easy recipe that tastes wonderful! I kind of made it up myself with an idea from a restaurant in Surf-side Texas called Red Snapper Inn. At that restaurant they have a DELICIOUS plate called Pecan Crusted Snapper. When we moved here I got the idea to make our own version and most people have loved it! When we have guest NOT from Alaska visit, they usually want to try fresh salmon and this is my recipe that we make. It is super easy and you can use this for other fish besides salmon, such as Halibut or Pike. If you don't have pecans you can also use Walnuts. It is a nice mixture of sweet with salty.

Pecan Crusted Salmon
2 TBSP butter
3 TBSP honey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup pecans finely chopped
3 tsp chopped fresh parsley
6 fillets salmon or 1 plank( I use a whole plank or side of salmon)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cover a pan with foil or spray with Pam. I use foil so it is a easy clean up. Wash your salmon. Dry the salmon and lay on the foil pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt butter and then add honey mix well. Cut slits in salmon planks to allow butter to go in and to cook evenly. Brush with honey and butter.  In a bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley. Pour on top of salmon. Bake 10 minutes per inch of thickness, till the salmon flakes when tested with fork.

Any leftovers store in the refrigerator and save to tomorrow.You can use them in Salmon Cakes or Chowder. I will post a recipe to use them in tomorrow.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf With Cheese Sauce

This recipe came from my friend Courtney. she made it for us when we lived in Florida and it became a favorite of our family. I have never been found of the traditional meatloaf, but this is NOT your traditional meatloaf! This has tons of flavor and a cheese sauce that tops it! Who can beat that?

Cheeseburger Meatloaf
Sauce:
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup cheese
In a sauce pan, mix ingredients and simmer on low. Stir occasionally so it won't burn.

Meat Loaf:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion(chopped)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Ritz Crackers (crushed)
1 tsp seasoned salt

Mix all ingredients together. If you are using beef Put 2 pieces of bread in bottom of pan to observe extra grease. Moose is very lean so I usually omit this. Pour into pan. i use a small casserole dish instead of a loaf pan. Pour some cheese on top of meat before you cook. Save other cheese sauce for top after cooked. bake in preheated oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve meat with Potatos and you can use the cheese sauce to cover both! DELICIOUS!

Apple Bread

Growing up in Zambia, and my parents being Church developers, meant we traveled to where the churches needed to be. That meant we were in the car A LOT! Sunday mornings usually started around 7 am and we would drive 1-4 hours depending on the church we were going to. Many times we would go and stay the weekend at places because it was to far to drive in one day. But those are some of the best memories I have. The roads were terrible or non existent. I remember many times my brother and I siting on top of the car driving through grass that was taller then an Elephant, following a cattle trail to get to the church. Jesse(my brother) and I would tell dad the direction we would see any hut or person or any sign of life out in the bush. When we got high tech, dad bought a GPS. YAY! So we would mark the church and then the next time we came all we would have to do is make a trail to the point on the screen and HOPE your point of reference weren't off by any measurement. Those memories were so wonderful! Except for maybe the SPAM sandwiches my mom would make us....YUCK! I don't know how I survived eating that stuff! But Even with the SPAM sandwiches, Mom would bring a bag of snacks to eat along the way. Peanuts, chips, Granola bars, whatever she put in the basket. But my hope was always that she would put one of her sweet breads in the basket. Banana Bread, Zucchini bread, Pumpkin bread. They are delicious! When we go to visit them in Zambia, I STILL hope she puts breads in the snack basket. My boys are catching on to this sweet bread idea. They love it for breakfasts and snack time, tea time and dessert. Most of them freeze really well. Last months I spent a day baking different sweet breads and then wrapping them and freezing them. Keith could grab them when he went hunting.

This recipe is for Apple bread but it works GREAT for Zucchini or pears! I love this recipe!! I like to add chocolate chips, Craisins, Cranberries, blueberries, Pecans, or any other chopped nuts. It makes two 8x4 loafs. But these are also fun to make in mini loafs and wrap and give as gifts to someone's birthday or to anyone who needs a "pick me up"! Like the Post Office Lady.  They make great welcome to the neighborhood gifts and thank you gifts. Growing up Mom would make a bunch and we would deliver them to our neighbors at Christmas time! It is a great way to make someones day. Who wouldn't want a nice loaf of sweet bread? I hope you enjoy this recipe and I hope you share some to those people around you!

Apple Bread
3 cups all purpose Flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs ( I use Ener-G Egg Replacer)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups Shredded Apples, pears, or Zucchini or a combination of these
1 cup chopped walnuts or Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl place oil, sugar, eggs (I add the powder to the dry ingredients and the water to the wet ingredients) vanilla, and apples. mix well. Stir in the flour mixture. add nuts and mix well. Divide between 2 greased loaf pans. 8x4 Bake for 40-45 minutes. till done. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack before you removing from pan.

English Muffins

Yesterday I gave you the recipe for Bagels that are delicious, but today I am giving you the recipe for English Muffins that is SOOOOOO easy and delicious that you may never buy them in the supermarket again! I mean it these are very easy to make! And you can add Craisins, raisins, cinnamon, chopped onions or whatever ingredients you like to have in your English Muffins. I love to cut them in half and toast these then spread with cream cheese and jam.  YUM!! These freeze really well and so I make a big batch and put them in ziplocks in the freezer so my husband can take a bag with him to work to warm up when he wants one.Though he likes to also turn these little muffins into a egg, bacon, cheese Muffin that can beat any that you can buy at an restaurant!Trust me you need to t try these! Like I said you may never want to buy store bought ones again! Enjoy!

English Muffins
5 cups White flour
5 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 cups warm water
1 TBSP salt
4 TBSP honey
2 TBSP yeast
6 TBSP Oil
1 cup Corn meal

Preheat oven 350 Degrees
Mix all ingredients EXCEPT corn meal. I dissolve my yeast in the warm water first. Mix well. Knead 10 minutes. Roll out to 1/2 inch. Cut in circles and dip in Corn meal. Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake 5-10 minutes.

*can add raisins, Craisins, cinnamon, sugar or any other yummy favorites.

Bagels

Bagels! I love Bagels! Smeared with a little Cream Cheese. YUM! How I wish there was a Lu Lu's Bagels here! Lu Lu's is a store in Fairbanks that has and AMAZING selection of fresh bagels and breads for your breakfast. Delicious! But since I am a expensive plane ride away from any bagel shop, I make my own. Before I ever made these I was a little intimidated by them, thinking they were harder to make then they really are. Once I tried them, I was hooked! So was my husband, who likes to take them frozen to work so he can warm one up for breakfast.  These are delicious! The batch is really big and I have to half the recipe because my mixer can't handle that much flour! So I will give you the half version. This recipe came from my friend Kim Kopp who has lived in Galena from many years. Thanks for teaching me how to get my bagel fix!

Bagels
2 3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1TBSP +1 tsp salt
4 cup Whole wheat Flour
4 cup Flour
2TBSP yeast

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix all ingredients together. Let rise 20 minutes. Shape into bagels. Let rise 20 minutes. Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a pan. Put bagels in boiling water. Boil on each side for 1 minute. remove from water place on grease cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven 550 degrees. Bake 8 minutes.

I like to mix cream cheese with some of these and spread it on the bagels:
shredded Pineapple
Chives
Chopped peaches
any other yummy things

Tabby's Tomato Pie / Pie Crust

I got this recipe from a friend in Florida and it stayed in my book for 4 years. Because honestly tomato pie sounded a bit gross to me. I don't really like to eat lots of tomatoes so I just took the recipe because everyone who ate it was raving about it. But the first fall we were here we had 40 pounds of tomatoes to use up. Keith was gone for a meeting one week and so while he was away I tried my first tomato pie. It was delicious!Kaden and I both loved it!! The night Keith got home I made it for him, HE LOVED IT! so we had it every day that week. By the end of the week Kaden asked, can we have something besides tomato pie? But he still asks for it a lot! Keith could not believe we had the recipe for so long with out trying it. I had to tweek the recipe due to the fact that Kaden is allergic to eggs and Mayo has eggs in it so I just use Sour cream but honestly, I like it better with sour cream and NOT mayo! But don't wait 4 years like I did to try it! You may think it sounds weird but trust me this delicious! TRY IT TONIGHT! That is what we are having for dinner! =)

Tabby's Tomato Pie (this makes one pie but I would say make 2 because this will be gone before you can even take a picture! Trust me I have yet to get a picture of a tomato pie after it is cooked! It is devoured fast!) 

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (recipe below)
2 large Tomatoes
oregano
Pepper
Salt
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
1 cup Mozzerella Cheese shredded
Crispy Bacon, or Bacon Bits,  or Pepperoni ( this is something I change due to what i have on hand)

Preheat 350 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and place it in the pie pan. I bake my crust about 10-15 minutes to keep it from getting soggy later. Cut the tomatoes in thin slices and place in one of those strainer/drainer things. Not sure the name but the thing you pour your macaroni and pasta in to drain all the water out. Put your tomatoes in there to drain off access juice. Let drain about 10 minutes sprinkle salt, Pepper and Oregano over the tomatoes to season them. Then layer the tomatoes in the pie crust. Sprinkle Bacon around over top of the tomatoes. Mix Sour Cream, and Cheeses together in a separate bowl and then spread on top of the tomatoes. Bake it 40-60 minutes till top is getting brown. Take it out and for best results let it sit for about 15 minutes to be able to cut it better and not have it run all over the pan. But SELDOM ever does it make it 15 minutes at my house. But it does cut better like a pie if you wait more then 15 minutes.

*This is my favorite version of the pie, but you can add more stuff if you like. Mushrooms, onions, Peppers. Basically let you mind and tastes buds lead you. =) ENJOY!!!!!! Let me know how you like it!

If you can't buy a pie crust, it is really easy to make them. This is my favorite one to use. It turns out flaky and delicious.

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups flour
1 egg( I use egg-replacer powder)
5 TBSP cold water
1 TBSP vinegar
1 tsp salt

Mix Flour and salt. Cut in Crisco till crumbly like corn meal. Beat egg and add to flour mix, Add water and vinegar. Stir till all incorporated. Separate in to 3 parts.( You can put the ones you don't need in a zip lock and roll slightly and freeze them for when you need them.)  Let the dough chill 15 minutes before you use it. it will make it easier to handle.  Flour a surface and roll out to use for  a pie.

Mary-Beth's Santa Fe Corn Soup

Well it is getting chilly here in Galena. Winter is fast approaching. Snow falls one day and melts the next. The cold Arctic wind bites to the bone while the shining sun begs for you to come out and play in it's warm rays the last days before it goes down to the horizon putting us in a winter of darkness. With this cold weather returning to our lives, so do my soup recipes.  Soup on a cold night makes life cozy and warm.

This is one of our family favorites. It is from a dear, dear friend Mary-Beth Huff.  She is one sweet sweet lady. Many of you may not have known but this summer our whole town was evacuated because the mighty Yukon River had a ice jam that caused water to raise so high that there was no where to go but up in a plane. Many of our homes and  much of the town was destroyed. If you want to read the story about it you can read it on my family blog Ramos Tribe Adventure. Any ways, One of the first persons to call me and check if we were OK was Mary Beth. She wanted to know how she could help and what we needed. At the time, while we were sitting in evacuation center waiting to hear news about our homes, her voice was refreshing, reassuring, concerned and filled with prayer. I was not sure how they could help but when I got emails of what Galena needed I emailed them to her and her husband Ken. Little did I know that they would take a few little emails of needs and turn them into FIVE mission teams coming to help our town. What a blessing they have been to our town and to my family. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough to Mary Beth and Ken Huff! But Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

This is a soup recipe that she has shared with us. She brought this soup over one time when my mom was sick. Honestly all of us felt amazingly better after eating this soup. It is so delicious! My boys who are not corn eaters sure do eat this up. When I ask Kaden what he wants to eat for dinner, Corn soup is usually his answer. And usually I don't mind cooking this one up!

Mary Beth's Santa Fe Corn Soup.
1 bag(16oz) frozen corn -(getting frozen corn here is not easy so I use canned corn.)
1 cup Chicken broth
4 TBSP butter or Margerine
2 cups evaporated Milk
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 tsp oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 TBSP canned diced can chiles
1 cup cubed cook chicken
1 cup Monterey Cheese grated ( I don't get this cheese here so I use cheddar, but I love the Monterey flavor)
1/4tsp baking soda
diced fresh tomatoes
crushed tortilla chips

Cook Chicken breast in 1 1/4 cup water with 1 chicken bouillon cube. Cool, Dice. Thaw corn slightly, then grind in a food processor. In a 3 quart pot, combine broth, butter, corn and garlic. Simmer, stirring 5 minutes. Add Milk, Oregano, Chilies, and Salt and Pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. Add Chicken. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Baking Soda and Cheese. Stir till cheese melts. Ladle into soup bowls, top with Diced tomatoes and Crushed Tortilla chips. Serves 4 generously.

Fast Pizza Dough

Our family loves to eat Pizza!  Growing up it was the Friday night tradition at least when we were around Aunt Betty and Uncle Dwayne. We eat it quite often at our house but for a while I had a recipe that would take hours to fix. Sometimes Keith would come home from work and call saying "Hey can we have pizza tonight?" My answer normally would be no because it take a few hours to have the dough rise. Well my friend Shell gave me a recipe that takes 10 minutes! Yes 10 minutes! And it makes a delicious, can be crispy, crust. So now when Keith comes home and asks can we have pizza for dinner, I can say. Yes we can!

Shell's Fast Pizza Dough.

1/2 TBSP
1 cup Warm water
2 TBSP oil
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2-2 3/4 cup flour (I use bread flour)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the oil, sugar, and salt. Add flour. Mix well. I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer. Place on a floured surface for 10 minutes covered. Form on greased pizza pan. Put toppings on. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

* I like to add Oregano or a little garlic to the dough to give a little flavor.

For our favorite toppings we like to spread roasted garlic and olive oil on the crust then spread a little pesto on top of that. Put sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, Grilled chicken, spinach, bacon, mushrooms, onions and mozzarella cheese. Boy is it tasty.

Rosebud’s Butter Topped White Bread

I have posted my roll recipe that I go to but this is my Go To recipe for bread loafs. I got this recipe on Pinterest because it LOOKED delicious. Before I got this recipe, seldom ever did my bread loaves turn out delicious. But once I tried this recipe, I have been hooked! It is so soft, fluffy and tasty and it stays pretty moist for a few days to make sandwiches. (if it lasts that long) My kids and husband gobble it up pretty fast. My Kitchen Aid mixer is not big enough to handle 10 cups of flour so I usually half the recipe and mix it up twice. I also like to make one loaf a cinnamon loaf. It makes a good garlic bread loaf too.

 Rosebud's Butter Topped White bread
4 and 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (or the equivalent of two packets)
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces
2 and 2/3 cup additional warm water
9-10 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the tops of the loaves
Additional butter/cooking spray, for greasing your rising bowl and loaf pans


1. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup of warm water, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the sugar, salt, butter, additional 2 and 2/3 cup warm water, and mix gently to combine.
3.  Slowly add 5 cups of the flour, mixing on low speed until smooth.
4. With the mixer on its lowest speed, slowly add the remaining flour until the dough is smooth.
5. Switch to your dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Or, alternatively, you can do it the old fashioned way and knead the dough by hand.

6.  While the dough is kneading, lightly grease a large bowl with butter or cooking spray, as well as two loaf pans.
7.  Once the dough is ready, place the dough in the greased bowl and turn over to completely coat the dough with butter/cooking spray.  Cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
8. After an hour, gently punch down the dough and divide it into two portions.
9. Working with one portion at a time, roll (with a rolling pin) the dough out into roughly 12″ x 12″ square, making sure that the thickness of the dough is uniform throughout.(this is where I sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar for a swirl bread)
10.  Slowly and tightly roll up each rectangle, sealing the edges firmly.
11.  Tuck the ends of the roll tightly under the bread and place into your prepared loaf pans.  Repeat with the second loaf.  Cover the loaves, set in a warm place, and let rise until doubled, about another hour.
12.  Place one rack on the lowest position in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
13. Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then cover each loaf with aluminum foil to prevent the tops from browning too much.
14.  Once covered with foil, bake for an additional 15 minutes.
15. Remove the loaves from the oven, place on a wire rack to cool, and lightly brush the loaves with the melted butter.

These are some loafs I made. The recipe makes 2 loafs and I made one into a cinnamon sugar swirl one. When you roll it out to form the loaf, I sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over it and then roll it tight. It is good for breakfast with a little butter. 

 Here is the "French" bread loaf I tried. I was not expecting it to blow up that big! I used both loafs and divided it into 3 portions instead of just 2. Then I hand rolled them in to long snakes and then braided them together. Let it rise for an hour. Make sure you have it on a BIG pan because this one still got bigger in the oven. Since it was so big before I put it in the oven I cooked it on 375 for longer time. I did put the foil on top and then took it off like the instructions said.  It made really good garlic bread and if my friends reactions to eating it is any sign it was a major success. To the point where the left over garlic bread from Isaiah's (my 2 year old) plate was gobbled up after all the other was gone. I will be making this one again but I might just stick with the 2 loafs and then using them to make 2 braided bread loaf since my oven was barely big enough to fit this giant loaf!

Moose Curry

This recipe is one of my favorite recipes to make when people come over. It is delicious! You can use Beef, Moose or any game meat you have. My mom gave me this recipe and she uses a large variety of game meat and it ALWAYS taste delicious!

Moose Curry(this is NOT a spicy HOT curry)
1-2 pounds cubed meat
2 Tablespoon butter or Oil
1 Chopped onion
1 Chopped apple
1 Chopped bell pepper
3 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Beef Bouillon Cube or beef broth
6 Tablespoon Sour Cream or yogurt
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic crushed
1/3 cup Raisins... I don't like raisins so I use dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Cook meat in butter till brown on all sides
Add onion, pepper, and Apples and cook for 5 minutes
Add Flour, curry powder, and salt. Mix well
Slowly add Beef broth and cook till thickened, stir constantly
Add Lemon juice, garlic, Raisins and Almonds
Cover and simmer for 1 hour
Stir occasionally
Add Sour cream and heat and serve over rice with any accompaniments: Tomato wedges, Pineapple chunks, Coconut, Raisins, Craisins, peanuts, olives, avocado, green onion, bananas or anything else you like.

Hot Rolls (No Rise)

This is my Go To recipe for quick rolls/cinnamon rolls/doughnuts when I am short on time. This recipe came from my mom and I use it a lot! It is fast mixing together and you can use all of it or it stores well in the fridge for a few weeks. I like to use it for rolls for dinner and then use the leftover dough and roll it out for cinnamon rolls for our breakfast in the morning.  I do let it rise a bit if I have time but you don't need to.  I like to let the cinnamon rolls rise for a while, stick them in the fridge and then pull them out in the morning. They just seem a bit more light and fluffy when you do let them rise a bit. But these are really tasty rolls! I just made them tonight and used the leftover dough for desserts and made hot fresh doughnuts. Wow they were delicious!

Hot Roll Mix- No rise
Dissolve: 1 TBSP yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 TBSP sugar
Add:
1/2 cup oil
2 cups buttermilk, sour milk, yogurt, (if you don't have these which I don't have often I make my own sour milk. Pour 2 cups milk and add 1tsp of vinegar to it. Let it set for a minute so it can get thick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 cups(or more) Flour ( I use bread flour)
Mix and Knead well.  It will be a little bit sticky but that is OK. You want it to be a soft dough. I coat my hands in flour and pull out about a golf ball size and put them in greased muffin pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes till golden on top.

For cinnamon rolls: Roll out on a flour surface. spread with soft butter and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over butter. Roll up. Cut into about 1 inch thick slices. Place in greased pan. As I said before, I let these rise so they are really fluffy and delicious! Bake at 425 degrees till golden on top.

For Doughnuts: roll out and cut out. Fry at 350 degrees till golden brown

For left over dough Place in greased container. Refrigerate left over dough. This last for a few weeks. but seldom does this ever last more then a day in my fridge.

Welcome to Bundu Baking

Hello, Welcome to Bundu Baking Blog! I am so glad you are checking out my blog. I am Tabitha Ramos.

Bundu is the Nyanja word for bush and I grew up in the bush of Zambia and now live with my husband and kids in the bush of Alaska. I consider myself a bush girl and learned most of my bush cooking by helping my Mum. She is a wonderful cook and if I can be any percentage of the cook she is, I will be happy. Since my Mum still lives in Zambia and I live on the complete opposite side of the world in Alaska, I have had to learn to cook on my own. I have not burned down the kitchen...yet. And we have not starved... yet. I really love to cook and even though cooking from scratch is a LOT of work, I find it relaxing to be in the kitchen.

We live in a small village of about 500 people in the interior of Alaska called Galena. Our village is only accessible by plane (or boat in the summer). We are closer to the Arctic circle than we are to the nearest road! Getting supplies here is quite difficult with out a lot of planning. We live a subsistence life as much as possible, meaning we hunt and fish for our meat. But we do a yearly barge shopping trip in the summer when the barge runs down river to our village. So every year I check our pantry, make a list and we fly to town and buy all the food supplies we will need to make it through winter till next summer. Thankfully growing up in Zambia prepared me for that and making a list of how many rolls of toilet paper, spaghetti, and every other item you will need for the next year was sort of easy for me to adjust to. But running to the store for something that I don't have on hand doesn't work here.  So I adjust recipes and have gotten rid of recipes that WON'T work out here. I have a big binder of my recipes that work with ingredients that I have on hand. Everything I cook is from scratch. All my breads, tortillas, main dishes, desserts and any thing you can think of is all from scratch. I do stock up on soups and stuff  like can beans and corn and vegetables since growing a garden when it is -70 degrees outside is NOT an option. Fresh fruit and veggies, milk, sour cream and butter are hard to come by out here and getting them here is a challenge in itself. When we fly out for vacation or work trips, we will mail back all our clothes and fill our luggage with all the fresh stuff we need. Life is challenging out in the bush but I LOVE IT!

I love cooking and I hope that these recipes can help you cook yummy meals from scratch. You won't find canned biscuits being used here... unless I have the recipe for canned biscuit, which I DO! I will share later. This blog is dedicated to cooking from scratch and I hope you enjoy cooking and making these recipes. They are a collection from all over the world, from many different ladies and wonderful cooks.  They all cooked from scratch. I will try to blog about the ladies I do know, so you can get to know them too. I also got a lot of recipes from Pinterest and if they work in Galena, I kept them! I hope these all can work for you. I will try to post a recipe everyday, but with homeschooling my kids and living life it might not happen. But I will try my very very hardest! 

Oh and beef is hard to come by out here so if you see any recipe that I use "beef" I didn't.... I use moose or Caribou or any other game meat I have.

Happy Cooking!