Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bread

Last month, there was an abundance of "kaki" in Koper! Our landlords have a large tree in our front yard, and they were kind enough to climb the tree, pick the persimmons, then give us several baskets full!

I don't mind the taste of persimmons, but I don't really love eating them in bulk. Dante really doesn't like them at all. Until... now!
I stumbled upon this recipe... after making it 3 times (and making a few adjustments), this is a delicious way to eat up a ton of persimmons!!!

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bread

(I doubled the original recipe to make it fit into a cake pan... the original recipe was for a 10x15 loaf pan.)

- 2 cups persimmon juice/pulp

- 2 teaspoons baking soda

- 2 beaten eggs

- 2 cups white sugar

- 1 cup vegetable oil

- 3 cups flour

- 2 teaspoons cinnamon

- 2 teaspoons nutmeg

- 2 teaspoons salt

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

- 2 cups chopped nuts

glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons lemon juice

1. In a small bowl, mix your persimmons and baking soda. Set aside.

2. Mix eggs, sugar, and oil.

3. Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.

4. Add the 3 mixtures together and mix well. Then add nuts.

5. Spread in a greased cake pan and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

6. Mix the glaze while the cake is baking and drizzle over the bread immediately after removing from the oven.

Holiday Wassail

There are many varieties of this holiday drink out there. This is the recipe that has been handed down through my family... and my personal favorite!

Wassail

- 64 oz. apple juice (8 cups)

- 1 1/2 cups orange juice

- 2 cups pineapple juice

- 3/4 cup lemon juice

- 1 teaspoon of whole cloves

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 sticks of cinnamon

note: if you buy any juice that has sugar added, you probably want to reduce the amount of sugar. Lesson learned!

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and let it simmer. The longer it heats, the more the spices will sink in.

 

Chicken Enchiladas

This is my go-to favorite Mexican food!
I order it every single time I eat out in Texas.
I've cooked it for every Slovene friend.
I love it.
This is my Mom's chicken enchilada recipe. Like most "Tex-Mex" Enchiladas, the sauce has a delicious, sour cream base (some restaurants just use a sour cream and chicken broth mix). But Mom's recipe is a bit more flavorful. I feel like we eat enchiladas at least 3 times a month! :)

When I lived in the US, I would buy frozen, pre-cooked fajita meat and use it in recipes like this. It saved time and added a nice flavor! I do prefer chicken breast fajita meat. But now we typically use shredded chicken instead.

Chicken Enchiladas

- chicken broth

- 1 can cream of chicken soup (or substitute- I substitute milk & mushroom soup mix)

- 8 oz. of sour cream (or more if you prefer)
- taco seasoning (to taste. I use about 1/2 a package)
- boiled, shredded chicken (or chicken fajita meat)
- tortillas
- cheese

Boil your chicken earlier in the day (or earlier in the week!) and shred the meat.
(For 2 people, I only use the meat from about 1/4 of a chicken.)

Heat the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and taco seasoning on the stove.
After the sauce comes to a boil, fill your tortillas with meat, cheese, and sauce.
Once you have a full pan of enchiladas (2-4 per person), cover with more sauce and a thick layer of cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese melts.

Grandma's Chicken N' Dumplings

It's cold.... so I have cool-weather food on my mind! Gumbo, sausage and potatoes, chicken and rice... and this favorite! When I was in college, Wednesday night was Chicken n' Dumplings night at my grandparents.... I made this a routine to visit on Wednesdays! :)

Chicken N'Dumplings

- 1 whole chicken, boiled

- chicken broth

- 2-5 tortillas

- cream of celery soup (or substitute- I substitute milk & mushroom soup mix)

- spices (salt, pepper, garlic, Tony's, parsley, etc.)

Boil your chicken earlier in the day (or earlier in the week!) and shred the meat. For 2 people, I only use the meat from about 1/4 of a chicken. 

Boil all the ingredients together for 15-30 minutes (until the dumplings are soft). Enjoy!

How about a picture of me with Grandma and Pa? That's nicer than soup...

Mom's Cornbread

I grew up eating peas and cornbread. We don't have purple-hull peas here... but I still enjoy this sweet, crumbly cornbread! (I don't make it as much as I'd like, because I rarely think of it 30 minutes in advance!)

(picture while baking.... we were too busy chowing down to take a "finished" picture!)

Cornbread

- 1 cup flour

- 1 cup cornmeal

- 1 tablespoon baking powder

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 egg

- 1 cup milk

- 1/4 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Pour a little oil into your pan and stick it in the oven. (when you pour the batter in the hot oil, it will give it a nice crunchy crust!)

2. Mix all and bake 30 minutes at 400F. 

A Gumbo Success Story (and why everyone should have red hot chili peppers)

In April, I wrote about my first attempt at making Gumbo here in Koper. It did not turn out the way I hoped!

Now, we have a wonderful red hot chili pepper plant that is helping our food taste better! Get one! These little guys are very spicy and add a great kick to all our food!!!

 (almost ripe....)

This time, I had a better supply of ingredients to experiment with and came up with a much better version! I know there are a lot of great recipes online from native Cajuns.... but this is a recipe based on things I always have in my pantry, so maybe it's a bit more accessible for those of us who aren't from the Bayou.

Easy Gumbo

- Rice
- Sausage and shredded chicken

- 3 small red peppers

- 1/2 can tomatoes
- Oil, flour, milk, beef bouillon cube, vegetable bouillon cube
- Spices: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, tabasco, Tony's (to your taste)

1. In a pot, make a roux (paste) with oil and flour. In another pot, boil your water and add the rice.

2. Add onion, garlic, salt pepper, Tony's and continue stirring. Add milk (less than 1/4 of a cup), water, beef bouillon cube, vegetable bouillon cube, tomatoes, peppers, and 2-3 dashes of Tabasco sauce.

3. Add the meat to the spicy mix, then add the rice. Boil all together until it is as thick as you prefer (around 30 minutes). (or if you prefer, you can keep the rice and gumbo separate until serving.) 

Serve with some fresh cornbread  and you have a great meal!

Sauce to the left, rice to the right.... mix them together and there you go!

Best White Cake

My Mom makes the best cakes in the world! They are delicious, beautiful, moist, and always have a wonderful ganache between layers. (She uses boxed cake mixes.... they're just less dense than something from scratch!)
But, since moving to Koper (goodbye, boxed cake mixes!!), I've experimented with several home-made cakes....and this is the best one! I found this recipe online but the website is no longer up.

*the secret to a GREAT cake is to freeze it overnight... it makes it so moist!*

White Cake

- 1/2 cup butter 

- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla 
- 1 1/4 cups milk

- 2 cups flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350F. 

2. Mix butter eggs, sugar, vanilla, and milk. 

3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Then stir into the wet ingredients.

4. Pour into a well-greased 9x12 pan and bake for 40 minutes.

After removing the cake from the pan, I cut it neatly in half.... so you can have a 2-layer cake. Then wrap in foil or wax paper and freeze for at least 12 hours.

Top with a buttercream frosting (vanilla, milk, butter, powdered sugar).

(obviously I like to garnish with grated chocolate/white chocolate, then cookies or strawberries. Another decorating idea from my Mom!)