Navy Bean Soup

1/2 pound dry navy beans
water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup ham, cubed

Place beans in a large Dutch oven; rinse well and drain. Return beans to pan; cover with water and soak overnight. The next day drain beans; add 2 quarts of fresh water. In a sauce pan heat butter. Add flour; cook until golden. Add onions, green pepper and garlic. Cook until wilted. Add mixture and remaining ingredients to the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Serve with hot crusty bread.

*Add more water and cook longer if beans are not tender.

Basic Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

2 medium celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth, skimmed of fat

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 medium skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves (10 ounces)

Directions

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add carrots, celery, chicken broth, pepper, and 3 cups water; heat to boiling over high heat. Add chicken to saucepan and reduce heat to low. Cover saucepan and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken just loses its pink color throughout and carrots and celery are tender. Remove saucepan from heat.

Using slotted spoon or tongs, remove chicken from saucepan to plate; cool slightly until easy to handle. With fingers, pull chicken into shreds.

Return chicken to soup; heat through.

Vanilla Ice Cream

5 egg yolks

2/3 cups sugar

1 cup half and half

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat yolks and sugar until blended. Pour in top of double boiler. Stir in half and half. Cook and stir over boiling water until thickens. Set aside - stir in butter. While cooling on a rack, stir occasionally until room temperature. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla. Freeze according to manufacturers directions.

Fruit Tofu based Ice Cream

2 1/2 t Unflavored gelatin

1/8 t Salt

1/2 c Sugar

1 1/4 c Frozen fruit and/or berry -juice concentrate, thawed

10 ea (oz) soft tofu or silken -tofu, drained

1/4 c Safflower oil

3 T Fresh lemon juice

1/2 t Vanilla extract

Sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water (in saucepan) and allow to sit 3 minutes. Cook over very low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Mix in salt and sugar and cook, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. In blender, or processor, combine juice, tofu, oil, lemon juice, vanilla, 3/4 cup water and process until very smooth. Add gelatin mixture. Freeze in ice cream machine, according to manufacturers, instructions, or freeze in ice cube trays and follow manual instruction as noted above. Makes 1 quart.

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Coffee Ice Cream

1 cup milk

1/4 cup ground coffee

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

1/8 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

3 cups half and half

Heat milk in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat. When bubbles form around the edges of pan, remove from heat. Stir in coffee and half the sugar. In a slow and steady stream, whisk hot mixture into bowl with beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Return to saucepan. Add remaining sugar and salt. Stir constantly over medium high heat 3-4 minutes until mixture is thickened. Stir in vanilla and 1 cup half and half and chill in refrigerator. Strain through a very fine sieve or cheesecloth. Add remaining half and half and freeze in an ice cream maker 20-30 minutes until frozen.

Almond Ice Cream

1/4 cup blanched almonds

2 cups milk

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Reduce the almonds to a powder. Add the milk and heavy cream, mix thoroughly together. In a saucepan, heat the almond mixture and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and reserve.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the almond mixture and mix well with wooden spoon. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, do not boil.

Strain custard into a clean bowl and refrigerate until cold. Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instruction. Transfer to covered container and freeze until firm.

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How to Make Caramel Banana Cookies

Ingredients:

• A cup of plain flour
• A cup of self raising flour
• A mashed banana
• 2 egg
• 1/3 cup of castor sugar
• ½ tea spoon vanille essence
• 80 gram butter

Preparation of caramel:

Make cream by mixing the sugar and butter. Beat vanille essence, sugar and butter until the cream becomes light and fluffy. Add eggs and stir them in banana and flours. Mix to a firm dough and later put the fluffy mixture into refrigerator for half an hour.

Cut your cookie as circular pieces with 5 mm slices. Bake them in a moderate oven for 15 or 20 minutes until it becomes brown. Your cookie is ready to be tasted. Here is the result;