Ahhh fall. It’s been teasing us. We have a couple of cool days here in Oklahoma and then it’s summertime hot again. With the first whisper of cooler weather, I pulled out the soup pot. I love soup. It can be a complete, healthy meal in a bowl. It’s also, usually, relatively easy to make.

Bean soup is one of my favorites. Dried beans are cheap and easy to prepare. If you don’t want to use dried beans, you can always open up a couple of cans. Just be sure to rinse them to get some of the salt off before you use them.

If you remember in enough time that you want to make the soup the following day, you can place the beans in the pot, cover them with water, and then let them sit overnight. I forgot this time and so I did the quick soak method. I placed the beans in the pot and covered them with water.

I brought them to a boil, let them cook for 2 minutes, then removed them from the heat and let them stand covered for an hour. After that I drained them and they were ready to add to the soup.

This soup is terrific when it’s first made but also reheats wonderfully!

Easy, tasty, nutritious. I’m sure you will love this Mmmmm FABU soup!

Mediterranean Bean Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil, extra-virgin

1 large onion coarsely chopped

2 medium carrots peeled and chopped

1 or 2 large garlic cloves crushed

2 cups beans soaked and drained

8 cups water boiling

1 tablespoon thyme leaves fresh or 1 teaspoon dried

1 or 2 bay leaves

1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to

Directions

In heavy 3-quart stockpot or soup kettle heat extra-virgin olive oil; sauté onion, carrots and garlic until vegetables are soft but not browned, 10-15 minutes.

Add drained beans and boiling water to stockpot; add thyme, bay leaves and parsley.

Cover and cook over low heat, adding boiling water occasionally if necessary, 1 1/2 – 3 hours or until beans are soft (cooking time varies with age of beans).

When beans are soft add salt and pepper.

For thicker soup remove about 1 1/2 cups of beans, puree in food processor or blender, and return to pot.

For thinner soup add hot water (or crushed canned tomatoes with juices).

Correct seasonings. Transfer soup to tureen or individual bowls.

Garnish with chopped parsley or croutons and drizzle with a good green olive oil.

Makes 8 servings.

For step by step instructions with photos view recipe at Chic Galleria.

Tags: beans

Pie that is. I loved this recipe when I saw it mostly because it calls for a graham cracker crust and you can buy those nicely pre-made at the grocery store. But look at what else is in it: sweetened condensed milk. Now be honest. Have you ever had anything that contained sweetened condensed milk that was bad. Just in case you don’t know the answer, I’ll help. It’s no.

Additionally, the instructions say to chill for several hours and it doesn’t need to be baked. Given these days with temperatures of over 100 degrees, I was totally sucked in to making this pie.

Bananas are hard to keep in this house.  We are a family of banana fans. But I grabbed 3 bananas, put them aside with strict orders that they not be touched. I’m so glad I did that. This awesome, creamy, SIMPLE  pie is Mmmmm FABU! I’m sure you will agree.

Banana Breeze Pie

1 – graham cracker crust

3-4 medium firm, ripe bananas

1-8 oz package cream cheese

1-can sweetened condensed milk

1/4-cup real lemon juice

2 tbs banana liqueur

1-tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice (to sprinkle over banana slices)

Soften cream cheese to room temperature.  Cream the cheese until fluffy.  Add sweetened condensed milk and gradually increase mixer speed to whip.  Whip for two minutes.  Stop mixer and add lemon juice.  Again, gradually increase speed of mixer to whip and whip another 2-3 minutes.  Add vanilla extract and mix well.

Cut bananas in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent from darkening.  Place bananas in pie crust reserving enough to place on top of the pie if you wish.  I just place them all in the pie crust.  Then dump the pie filling on top of the bananas.  Chill several hours.

Originally posted in April 2010

I’ve been trying to figure out why I associate coconut with Easter. Is it because people use it for grass when making Easter baskets out of cupcakes? And I do so love the chocolate covered eggs that have coconut inside. Maybe it’s because the seasonal lamb cakes are coated with coconut.

I never won the lamb cake when I was a kid. At our church, they would have an Easter egg hunt for the Sunday school.  They would hide a bunch of regular eggs and then one huge goose egg that would be gold. If you found the gold egg, you got the lamb cake. I came really close one year. I looked under the doll bed in the nursery but didn’t see the egg. My friend then came up with the big egg and guess where she found it? Under the doll bed in the nursery. I felt so robbed. How could I have missed an egg of that size? Even in my seven year old mind, I knew there was something very wrong with that picture.

Even back then, I was so competitive.

I’m sure that my mother was thrilled that we never found the gold egg. The way it worked was that if you found the gold egg and, therefore, the lamb cake, your mother would have to provide the lamb cake the following year’s winner.  I was a kid back in the dark ages when you couldn’t just go to Wal-Mart and buy a lamb cake or go to Hobby Lobby and get a mold to make one. It would have been a real chore and mom wasn’t much on baking. Yes, I know she was secretly cheering my loss of the prize and her big win of missing out on the joy of baking a lamb cake.

So anyway, back to Easter and coconut. I thought it would be great to make this coconut cream cake that can be topped with season fruit to make a FABU Easter dessert.

Coconut Cream Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounce size) cream cheese, softened
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
2 tbs coconut rum
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. I used Bakers Joy spray so that this cake would come out of the pan perfectly.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the coconut rum.

Mix in flour and baking powder until just moistened, then stir in coconut.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

I wanted to bake a cake and was looking through the cupboards and matching up a recipe that I wouldn’t have to shop for. I found this orange cake recipe. It uses the smaller bundt pan, which I love since it doesn’t get that much use. It also uses the Grand Marnier which I don’t find a lot of use for. It’s summer and it’s hot but an orange cake sounded refreshing to me. I was very simple to make and with the Grand Marnier glaze is mmmmm FABU!

Orange Cake

1 cup softened butter
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
3 eggs, separated
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 orange rind, grated
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch tube pan Cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.
Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add alternately with sour cream to egg mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in orange rind and
chopped nuts.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
Turn batter into pan; bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
Combine remaining sugar, orange juice and Grand Marnier. Spoon over hot cake in pan. Cool before removing from pan.

Well, the Highway is fully relocated to it’s own spot on the web.  www.FABUHighway.com is where you’ll find us now. I lost some recipes in the translation but you should be able to find them at Chic Galleria.

I’m looking forward to sharing lots more mmmmm FABU with you!

How about a little cheese with your wine? Bread that is.  I wanted something special to go with dinner so that’s what I baked today – Wine Cheese Bread and it was FABU! While it is a yeast bread, the end result is almost closer to a quick bread in texture. I think that’s because of the addition of the eggs. This was an easy bread to make with few ingredients, like most bread.

You’ll want to combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook over low heat until very warm. I usually gauge this by when the butter is just about all melted but you can measure that around 120 degrees.  Set this mixture aside.  Stir 2 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of yeast together in your mixer bowl. Add the wine mixture and eggs. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining flour and the cheese to make a soft dough.  Mix for 8 minutes. Dough should have formed a ball in the mixer bowl.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, around 1 hour.  Punch the dough down and let rest for 10 minutes.  Place the dough in a greased pie plate. Cover and let rise again until double, around 40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.

This bread has an amazing texture. Crunchy and cheesy on the outside and cakey with a tang of the wine on the inside. I’m sure you will agree that this bread is FABU!

Wine Cheese Bread

1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. butter
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp dry yeast
3 eggs
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Set aside. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add wine mixture and eggs, beat at medium speed of an electric mixer 2 minutes. Gradually stir in cheese and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Place dough in a greased bowl turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down dough, let rest 10 minutes. Place dough in greased 1-quart souffle dish or 9 inch pie plate. Cover and let rise in warm place (85 degrees) free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf.

Tags: bread, cheese, white wine

I’m not much for eating mall food court fare.  But one thing I do love that you can get at the food court is Bourbon Chicken.  The tiny little free taste on a tooth pick draws me into the complete meal without too much trouble at all. In a diversion down Savory Street, I decided to make Bourbon Chicken at home.  This does require some thought as it needs to marinate overnight but, oh my, it is FABU!

I served the chicken with jasmine rice and a green salad. I adore jasmine rice almost as much as bourbon chicken. I don’t even think I have words to describe just how awesome I find the smell and taste of jasmine rice. The only thing that would have made this dinner better is if I had served it with cabbage like they do at the mall but, all in all, it was Mmmmm FABU!

Bourbon Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 ounces soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced dried onions
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Place chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the ginger, soy sauce, onion flakes, sugar, bourbon and garlic powder.  Mix together and pour mixture over chicken.  Cover dish and place in refrigerator.  Marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove dish from refrigerator and remove cover.  Bake in the preheated oven, basting frequently, for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is well browned and juices run clear.

Tags: bourbon, chicken, soy sauce

I’ve had this recipe for a long time, always thinking I’d find a time to make it. With New Year’s Day coming up, I thought it would make a great cake to take to brunch. It’s a big cake and will feed a crowd.  As a bonus, it contains one of my favorites boozes to bake with – Kahlua.

I love the way banana bread tastes and this cake has a similar texture.  The coconut adds a nice touch along with the subtle coffee flavor. I pronounce this cake Mmmmm FABU!

Kahlua Banana Brunch Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1/2 cup Kahlua
4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Optional: sifted powdered sugar

Grease a tube pan well. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, with remaining ingredients except coconut and nuts. Beat on low speed until mixture is well blended. On medium speed, beat 2 min., scraping bowl as you beat. Stir in coconut and nuts. Turn into prepared pan. Bake 45 to 50 min., or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 10 min.  Invert on cake rack; remove pan. When fully cooled, dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Tags: banana, coconut, kahlua, walnuts

Intriguing is what I thought when I saw this recipe. I love corn bread. I remember a place where we used to go when we first got married that served the most amazing corn muffins. It was a buffet and you could have  all you wanted and that was my favorite thing to eat. I have never been able to replicate those corn muffins but it doesn’t stop me from trying.

This corn bread is so yummy. The rum, coconut and nutmeg, which are such different ingredients compared to any other corn bread I have ever made, combine to make a wonderful flavor. I wish I could be more descriptive. The flavor reminds me of something from my past that I just can’t put my finger on. Maybe I need to have another piece.

Sweet and exotic, I’m sure you will agree that this cornbread is Mmmmm FABU!

Carribean Corn Bread

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons rum
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flaked coconut
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8″ square pan.

Combine the milk, butter, rum and eggs in a large bowl; whisk until well mixed.  Add in remaining ingredients; stir just until moistened.  Spread in the greased pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until done.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tags: cornmeal, nutmeg, rum

I decided to take a diversion off the FABU Highway down Savory Street when I saw this recipe for pork roast.  I’m really more of a last minute kind of cook so I had to remember to prepare for this one since the meat needs to marinate for two days before roasting.  The preparation was easy and the results FABU! The roast was tender and moist with a wonderful flavor that was totally worth the wait.

I served the sliced roast with garlic mashed potatoes, a green salad and Caribbean Corn Bread*.

I’m sure you will agree that the flavor of this roast is Mmmmm FABU!

*Look for the Carribean Corn Bread recipe to come!

Cuba Libra Pork Roast

Ingredients

1/4 cup dark rum
1 1/2 cups cola
2 limes, juice of
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 small pork roast (3 lbs. or so)

Combine all ingredients (except pork) until salt and sugar are dissolved.  Marinate pork, covered, for 2 days in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Roast marinated pork, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325 degrees and roast, covered, for approximately and hour to an hour and a half more, or until done.