One Gardener to Another: Warm the house, warm the heart, warm the belly

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, October 23, 2019

As the weather turns cooler, recipes change from featuring ingredients that are crisp and cool to warm and comforting. These are a few tried and true favorites. Enjoy!

I have fond memories of tomato soup and grilled-cheese sandwiches on cold days. This recipe roasts the vegetable to bring out their full flavor.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved, stem and core removed

• 1 yellow onion, rough chop

• 1 red onion, rough chop

• 1 head garlic

• 3 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil

• 1 teaspoon white pepper, or more to taste

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Vegetable stock, enough to puree vegetables to desired consistency (about 1 quart)

• Fresh basil leaves

• Bread for croutons (Italian, ciabatta or baguette)

• Basil, oregano and garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Halve tomatoes and place face down on a cookie sheet lined with foil and rubbed with olive oil. Rough chop onions and put between tomatoes. Drizzle olive oil over top of vegetables.

Cut the top off of the head of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the top and wrap in foil, cut end up. Place in the corner of the cookie sheet with the vegetables.

Bake until tomatoes and onion start to char, approximately 30-40 minutes.

In a stock pot, add roasted tomatoes and onion, along with all the juice from the cookie sheet, 6 cloves or more to taste of the roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes (or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste), salt and pepper.

Using a wand mixer (food processor or blender) process, adding vegetable stock a little at a time until desired consistency. You can leave it slightly chunky or puree until smooth. Heat through.

For croutons, cube bread. In a bowl, mix with olive oil or melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano and basil. Toss to coat evenly. Spread onto cookie sheet.

Toast in 400-degree oven until lightly browned.

Garnish soup with croutons and chopped basil. For a fancier presentation, add swirl of cream fraiche or sour cream.

There was a cafeteria-style restaurant when I was growing up that had the best mac and cheese ever. It was velvety and topped with crunchy bread crumbs. I’ve made many variations of this, and it’s always a winner.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients

• ½ pound elbow macaroni

• 1-1/2 cup milk

• 1-1/2 teaspoon powered mustard

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• Few drops hot pepper sauce

• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1-1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese

• ½ cup fresh bread crumbs

• ½ teaspoon paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow, 2-quart baking dish. Cook pasta until tender but firm, about 8 minutes; drain well.

In a heavy saucepan, bring milk to a simmer over moderate heat. Remove from heat and stir in powdered mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.

Transfer pasta to a bowl. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons butter and egg; mix well. Stir in 3 cups of cheese.

Spread pasta evenly in baking dish. Pour seasoned milk mixture over pasta and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter, stir in bread crumbs until well coated. Scatter breadcrumbs over pasta and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly colored. Broil about 6-inches from heat until bread crumbs are golden brown, 1 or 2 minutes. Serve.

For a hardier dish, add diced bacon, ham or jalapenos. Cheddar cheese can be substituted with smoked gouda, Gruyère or gorgonzola for a unique and robust flavor.

I wasn’t much on vegetables as a young girl, but when this side dish was on the table, it had a spot on my plate.

Baked Cauliflower with Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1-1/2 cups milk

• 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

• ¼ cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

Cut cauliflower florets from the stem. Boil in salted water for 15 minutes.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and salt. Whisk until combined.

Add milk and whisk continually until mixture thickens. Add half of the grated cheese (about ½ cup) and stir until cheese melts.

Arrange cauliflower in baking dish and cover with cheese sauce. Mix remaining cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle on cauliflower. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until topping browns.

My mom made the world’s best bread pudding, unless of course you preferred my brother’s, which was less bready and more custardy. That being said, this recipe was shared with me about 20 years ago by a friend, and it never fails to get rave reviews. Don’t tell my family!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients

For the pudding:

• 3 cups whipping cream

• 10 ounces white chocolate

• 1 cup milk

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 8 egg yolks

• 1 loaf French bread, sliced into ¼ inch pieces and dried in the oven

Directions

Heat the cream in a double boiler and add the white chocolate. Remove from heat when chocolate is melted.

In a double boiler, heat milk, sugar, eggs and egg yolks until warm. Blend the egg mixture into the cream and chocolate mixture.

Place the bread slices in an over-proof baking dish. Pour ½ of the custard mixture over the bread and let settle for a while until the bread soaks up all of the liquid. Top with the rest of the mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 275° for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 8 ounces white chocolate

• 3 ounces heavy cream

Directions

Gently melt the white chocolate in a double broiler. Remove from heat and mix in the heavy cream. Spoon over bread pudding. For a triple dose of chocolate, top with chocolate shavings. Serve.

— Irland, a member of the Limestone County Master Gardeners Association, can be reached at kippirland@hotmail.com. For more information on the Limestone County Master Gardeners, visit http://mg.aces.edu/limestone.