Ham and Bean Soup

Growing up, the one meal I hated more than any other was when my mother fixed ham and beans. I think we had them at least once a week and no matter how much she coaxed, pleaded or screamed, I would not eat them. The rest of my family loved them and covered them with ketchup (gross!!) and chopped raw onion. I would push them around my plate and pretend that I had eaten a few. After what seemed like hours, mom would relent and let me get up from the table. I would then go over to the candy cabinet (yes, we actually had a cabinet stocked with our favorite candy) and get some red vines or a few packets of sours ( those were a Smarties type of rolled candy that I don't know the correct name for, but a little on the fizzy side and oh so good).
I found this recipe and it looked so good that I decided to give the old bean and ham night a resurrection. This recipe comes from Cook's Country December/January 2008 edition and is very good. The ham is the real star of this recipe and it's very easy to prepare. The addition of the the vinegar at the end really brightens the flavor.

Ham and Bean Soup

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ham steak, patted dry and diced
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
6 cups water
2 smoked ham hocks
1 lb. dried navy beans, soaked overnight
2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add ham and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, water, hocks and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low and simmer until beans are completely tender and the soup is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. ( I skimmed a lot of fat from the surface of my soup.)
Remove hocks from pot. If desired, let cool for 5 minutes, then shred meat and add to the soup. Stir in thyme, pepper and vinegar. Serve.

Doug's Pumpkin Spice Cake

This recipe comes from a friend of mine at work, who decided to bake a pumpkin spice cake after I told him of my easy recipe. Doug's recipe is much more challenging, but sounds incredible. I have not spoken with him yet to see how it turned out, but the maple syrup in the icing sounds wonderful.

Pumpkin Spice Cake:



1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (270 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh or canned pure pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (200 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, room temperature)


Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces (228 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (preferably Grade A dark amber)
2 cups (230 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Garnish:

1/2 cup (50 grams) toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour (or spray with Baker's Joy) two - 8 inch (20 cm) cake pans. Cake: In the bowl of your electric mixer(or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat until incorporated.In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the pumpkin batter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide the batter in half and then pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cakes from their pans. Cool completely before frosting.



Frosting: Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of your food processor (or use a hand mixer) and pulse until smooth. Add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and process to combine. Adjust syrup or sugar until you have the right consistency.Assemble:Place one of the cake layers, top side down, on a serving plate. Frost with a layer of icing. Place the second cake, top side down, onto the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with chopped nuts, if desired. Refrigerate but bring to room temperature before serving.



This recipe is adapted from Cindy Mushet's excellent baking newsletter "Baking with the American Harvest". (Unfortunately, it is no longer in publication.)

White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

This is the frosting recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Cake . It's so simple and so sinfully sweet and good. The sweetness works well with the spice in the cake and would also work well on a carrot cake. How can you go wrong with 3 simple ingredients like cream cheese, marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips?


White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 container of marshmallow cream
1 bag white chocolate chips, melted

Using a hand mixer, mix ingredients until well blended. Frost.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

I came across this recipe in the Northland Sun Tribune last week and was intrigued with the frosting. It's a simple recipe and perfect for the upcoming holidays. The cake tastes like pumpkin pie, so it would be a great alternative for a Thanksgiving dessert. It would make a great layer cake that could be decorated with those little candy pumpkins.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 box spice cake mix

1 can pumpkin

Mix cake following box directions with the addition of the pumpkin. Box according to directions.

Can't get any easier than that!