Did you try a new food or dish? Tell us about it!

cardamom coffee...I was pouring coffee beans into my grinder and noticed the jar of cardamom seeds so put about a half teaspoon of them in with the beans for a 10 cup carafe. It added an interesting aromatic dimension. It kind of smelled like spring time. Leftover coffee the next day had less aromatics but seemed reminiscent of a hazel nut flavor. The third day it just tasted like coffee.

A few weeks ago I had some just-add-water pancake mix whose container I needed to use for something else and some milk that I needed to use up. So I made a giant pancake in a loaf pan because I didn't want to take the time to make regular pancakes. I later sliced the loaf pancake and toasted it in the oven. It was a little dryer than pancakes (I think I left it in the oven too long), but it tasted pretty much the same and saved a bunch of time.

Hip-Hop-a-potamus said:

For Lavern and Bubastes, and anyone else interested:

Portugese Kale-and-Potato Chowder (from "In Season"
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBMFUW/?tag=absowrit-20)

1 cup sliced turkey kielbasa (about 6 oz)
2 T. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 cups 1% lowfat milk
2 lbs peeled cubed baking potato
3/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
5 cups thinly slice fresh kale or turnip greens (about 3/4 lb)

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add kielbasa, saute' 10 minutes or until browned. Remove kielbasa from pan.

2. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat until hot. Ad onion and garlic, saute' 5 minutes. Add milk, potato, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until potato is very tender.

3. Remove from heat and beat potato mixture at medium speed of a mixer until smooth (I use a food processor. Easier and quicker- HH).

4. Stir in kielbasa and kale, and cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Yield 8 servings (serving size 1 1/2 cups).

Awesome with crusty bread and a little red wine.

Enjoy, y'all!
Hip

Click to expand...

Thanks for the recipe, I will try it.

That sounds just like the Caldo Verde I made almost every week last winter, except the version I made calls for chicken broth rather than milk, & the sausage it recommends is a Portuguese linguica (though I made it with kielbasa several times and it was fine, just a little different.)

The recipe I used is this one at Serious Eats. Once the weather cools down I'm going to start making it again!

Making my first ever from scratch cake today. I don't usually deal with cake, preferring bigger batch goodies that travel easier and aren't as messy to share. But I had an Idea and decided to make it happen. It's my take on those "pie in a cake" novelty cakes I've seen in various places.

The cake is a golden spice cake. Original recipe called for boiled cider, which I don't have, so I used honey instead. I'm filling between the layers with (also from scratch) apple pie filling. Finally, for the sides and as a barrier to hold the pie filling in, I'm whipping up my first ever batch of buttercream--cinnamon flavored, to go with the apples-and-spice theme. Very autumn themed; ironically today still feels like summer, though fall is in the air too.

I have the cake and the filling done, just need the butter to soften up enough to do the buttercream, then put this whole big mess together.

Usually when I do a cake it's a doctored box mix with pre-made frosting, so this is entirely new territory for me.

ETA: The cake turned out very well. I probably won't do this too often, but I think I can add cakes to the list of things I can make. My decorating game needs work, though.