autumn eats

it's taken me a bit too long, but here are the recipes i've promised.... enjoy eating your way through the chilly autumn weather~ i know i am! 

the produce here in japan is my fav- cabbage, mushrooms, green peppers, carrots and ginger

delightful chicken stoup

after kneading, the dough had a nice view of our backyard (which is someone's parking lot....haha)

honey wheat bread

banana choco chip oatmeal walnut bars

browned to perfection (if i do say so myself!)

chicken stoup recipe:

chop into pieces: 3 large carrots, mushrooms (to taste), 2 large green peppers (or a few small if that's all you can get), half a head of cabbage, enough garlic to your taste and approximately 1 tablespoon of ginger (more if you want to kick up the spice) 

add the carrots, garlic and ginger to a soup pot with a drizzle of olive oil and cook until carrots are tender. then add the remaining vegetables to the pot. fill the pot with water just enough to cover the veggies and then throw in 2 bouillon cubes and whatever spices make your taste buds dance. add two large chicken breasts, whole. allow to come to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through). when the chicken is cooked through, take them out and shred with a fork into edible pieces. return to the pot. 

you can always make noodles, or rice to add to the soup. i personally like to make them separately, but this is only a matter of preference. furthermore, you can really add whatever vegetables happen to strike your fancy when you are browsing at the store. that's the beauty of soups/stews (affectionately called stoup in my house because my hubby has a knack for making up his own names for things....) you can really add whatever you like, or just use up all the veggies you have in your fridge! happy stouping. 

honey wheat bread recipe:

you'll need the following: 

2 cups whole wheat flour 

4 cups regular white flour (i am partial to unbleached, but use whatcha got)

1 3/4 cups of warm water

1/3 cup honey

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or a package for those of you who can get them)

3 tablespoons butter

a pinch of salt

mix the flours together in a large bowl- then take 3 cups of that flour and mix with 1 1/2 cups water and let rest for a half hour or so. take a break to check your blog, or send a few emails... then get back to baking!  

miz 1.4 cup of water with the yeast and the honey. let it sit until the yeast starts to 'grow' (aka it gets bubbly and you can really smell it)  while you let that get nice and bubbly, melt the butter in a saucepan and then let it cool back to room temperature. add the salt to the melted butter. then mix together the following: yeast mix, flour water mix, and the butter salt mix. after you have mixed these all together, slowly add the rest of the flour~ when the dough loses its stickiness, you can dump it out onto a floured countertop and finish kneading. (a word of caution: don't knead it too much, or it'll be a really dense doughy mess of a bread.) then put a dishtowel over the bread and let it sit for about an hour until it doubles in size. 

when it has doubled, punch it, literally, (which is an added bonus if you are already frustrated about something....) and knead it again until there are no air bubbles in your dough. shape into two loaves, put in greased bread pans, cover, and let it rise for another 30 minutes. bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you knock on it. allow to cool before cutting. 

banana choco chip oatmeal walnut bars recipe

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter 

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 ripe mashed banana

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

semi-sweet chocolate chips to taste (about 8 ounces)

preheat oven to 375. mix flour and baking soda in a bowl. add butter and sugars to a mixing bowl and mix until the butter looks pale and fluffy. add in egg and vanilla, mix. add banana until mixed. add flour mixture and mix just until it is combined. then comes the fun part. you can either make these into cookies (drop blobs onto cookie sheets, should make about 36 or so) OR if you have a baby (aka japanese) oven like myself, you can turn these into bars instead. i used both a 9X13 pan and an 8X8 pan and spread the dough evenly across the bottom. then bake them for approximately 20 minutes or so, ensuring the middle cooks completely through. (toothpicks work wonders.) 

so, ladies, there you have it. a lovely autumn dinner, complete with dessert. let me know if you try these recipes out- i'd love to hear if they turn out for you! happy cooking, baking, eating!