Cooking



Help! I can't stop baking cupcakes. And the main problem is that I'm not taking them to share with my kids' class or a book group or anything. We're just eating them. Yesterday, M requested yellow. What is the technical definition of addition again?

On another food note: tonight we had a dinner that just really hit the spot: Creamy Asparagus Soup and Pumpkin Apple Struessel Muffins. Yummy, easy and comforting in this cold weather.

You can recreate it in under 30 minutes (prep time). Here are the recipes:
(P.S. Don't get hung up on precise measurements. (Precisely the reason I don't post 'recipes' more often. I suck at it.)

Creamy Asparagus Soup
1. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pot
2. Sauté 1 finely diced shallot (or onion, but shallot is better)
3. Add 1 bunch of asparagus chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (remember to trim off the ends of the spears first as they give a certain undesirable flavor.)
4. Add about 2-3 Tbsp. flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly so as not to burn the roux or make it clumpy.
5. Add 2 small (or 1 medium) finely diced potatoes
6. Add 4-5 cups of chicken broth and simmer on a low boil for a while... (30-45 minutes?)
7. When potatoes are very tender, purée the soup using a handheld/immersion blender until completely smooth.
8. Just before serving, add about 1 cup half&half and a few (1-2?) Tbsp. soy sauce (only Kikkoman!) and bring just to boil. (Don't let this boil ferociously or for long. You're just reheating with the cream, etc.)
9. Add salt & pepper to taste.
10. Stirring in a 1/4 cup or so of plain yogurt or sour cream, just before serving, adds a very nice flavor to the soup.

Apple Pumpkin Struesel Muffins
* This recipe is a tweaked version of one I found online
In a large bowl combine:
1 1/4 cup pumpkin
2 cups finely diced apples (tart ones are especially nice in this)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

In another bowl, whisk together:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar (raw cane sugar is always best, but white will do!)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix lightly, only until just moistened. (Over mixing is the #1 reason for consistency problems in muffins.)

Fill muffin cups or greased muffin tins until about 2/3 full.

Make struesel topping:
Mix together 2 Tbsp. butter, 3 Tbsp. flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. (you could also add chopped pecans if you'd like.) Sprinkle this mixture on top of muffin batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes on 350F. or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy warm and with good butter!