Everything turned out well

 

        On Sunday I decided to spend part of my day cooking. There were a few things that I wanted to make to prepare for the coming week. All of them were things that I had not made before. I enjoy trying out new recipes. Today I'd like to share how my food turned out.

        The first thing I made was white bean soup. I've always wanted to try making a bean soup with dry beans. Most of the recipes I found required ham which I don't eat. I try one recipe many years ago. It turned out very bland and I threw it away. This one had lots of spices in it. I thought it would be worth a try. I had everything except celery and a bay leaf. I left the celery out as C doesn't like it. An online search told me that I could use sage in place of the bay leaf. Knowing that C likes sage, I put some in the soup. 

        I decided that it would be best to let the soup cook in the crockpot on low. As the day went on I could smell the soup cooking in the kitchen. It smelled good so I knew I did not have to worry about the soup being bland. Once the soup had cooked for eight hours or so, the directions said to add the salt. Apparently salt prevents the beans from softening. The directions also said that mashing the beans would thicken the soup. It worked well. I put half the soup in the fridge and the other half in the freezer. It would make a good lunch or supper on day when I can't or don't feel like cooking. C ate some for supper last night. He made some corn muffins to eat with it. He liked it but said the beans were too soft for his taste. Next time I won't cook it quite as long. 

        The second thing I made was shredded tofu. I wanted to try this as a change from the cubes or crumbles I usually make.  I always use extra firm tofu which is supposed to shred easily. Mine crumbled a little. Since my block was bigger than the amount of tofu in the recipe I added a bit more oil and soy sauce. I also used poultry seasoning instead of chili powder so it would taste more like chicken. I baked it a bit longer than suggested to get the texture I wanted, then I sampled it after it cooled and it was perfect. I made a quesadilla with it, it was good although the texture was different than using chicken which is to be expected.

        I found a chicken curry recipe in a church cookbook I have. My plan today is to make the sauce and then add my shredded tofu to the sauce. I know that tofu cubes are what are typically used for dishes like this, but I think the shreds could work. Plus I can freeze it in portions and eat it over rice or quinoa for meals later on.

        The last thing I made was some soda bread. We'd been invited to a St. Patrick's day dinner and I wanted to bring something. The only thing I could think of was soda bread. I've never made it before. I found a recipe on a website that I trust. It seemed very easy. 

        Once I mixed it together I was worried. The dough was so soft, it was almost like batter. I shaped it as best I could and baked it in a cast iron skillet according to the directions. 

        It  was a pretty flat bread, not like the more rounded loaves I've seen in stores. The crust was brown and the inside was soft. At first I worried that maybe it was not fully cooked inside. I cut into it and put some butter on it. There is nothing like fresh bread with butter on it. It was very good. I ate a small slice for breakfast this morning and while the texture was different, it still tasted good.

        I am happy with how everything turned out and will be making all of these things again.