Recipes of the Week

I made this for B&B this weekend-- it was delicious-- I especially liked the combo of the cream cheese topping with a very yummy bread. My cousin Makayla did all the hard part with grating carrots and apples and rinds-- go Makayla!

Carrot-Apple Bread (supposed to be Zucchini but I used apples instead!)
I also used egg substitute because I was out of eggs and has vegan replacement left over from Derek's visit, but I'm sure eggs will work just fine!

2 1/2 c unsifted all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c buttermilk (I used vanilla yogurt)
2 T melted butter
grated rinds of one orange and 1 lemon
2 cups grated carrots
1 grated apple
(recipe calls for 1 c carrots and 1 c zucchini- grated)
whipped cream cheese with brown sugar and a pinch of powdered ginger for topping

preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9" by 5" by 3" loaf pan

Mix together flours, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until well blended. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until bread is firm (I had trouble getting the whole thing cooked through-- many tries!) Cool 5 minutes and then unmold unto a rack. Slice and top with whipped cream cheese and ginger yummyness.

Butternut Bisque Soup
(we went to a garden-share dinner where they served something like this. I came home the next day determined to mimic the recipe it was soooo good. This one worked out pretty well!)

1 medium/large butternut, cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
4 small carrots (from the garden) or 2 big ones
1 t of garlic
5 cups vegetable broth
2 T butter
1/4 cup cream (or yogurt, evaporated milk or what half and half)
1 t salt
nutmeg
cinnamon
vanilla
date sugar (this apparently is a sugar that is GOOD for you-- you can get it in health stores and cook with it not feeling a bit guilty. I wouldn't use it in coffee though)

Saute onions and garlic in pan, then add to vegetable broth with chopped squash and boil until it is all very soft. Puree in blender (or vitamix, if you have one) with 2 T butter and the cream. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and date sugar to taste. Top with a dollup of yogurt. If you puree it long enough it will be very smooth and silky and just delicious!