Hermit Cookies (makes about 18 cookies)

 My first introduction to Hermit Cookies was when I was in college and bought a package of Archway Hermit Cookies. These were soft, chewy rectangular cookies. I can't remember if they contained nuts, raisins or both. I just remember they were soft and chewy. Craving these cookies many years later, I went searching on-line for a recipe and found this one, which according to hard print copy I have “.... dates back to Sun-Maid's 1923 cookbook.” 

In writing up this post, I went searching on-line again for this Sun-Maid recipe. After multiple searches, sadly, I could not find it as this recipe is a variation of this Sun-Maid version. 

According to a 2016 article from Bon Appetit, there' no clear answer how this cookie got this name nor where it originated from. There are many varieties as a current search for “hermit cookie recipe” yielded over 3,000 results. If anything, this is a versatile cookie. 

Hermit Cookies 

¼ cup shortenting or butter, softened 

¼ cup sugar ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar 

1 egg 

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

½ teaspoon nutmeg 

1/8 teaspoon cloves (optional) 

½ cup raisins 

½ cup chopped walnuts 

Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine shortening or butter, sugar, brown sugar and eggs; beat until light and fluffy. 

Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, if using. Mix well. Stir in raisins and walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto non-stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Cool cookies on wire rack. Store cooled cookies in airtight container.

Oven Roasted Green Beans (serves 2 – 4)

If you've perused any of my recipes, you've noticed I roast a lot of vegetables,--eggplant, baby carrots, roma tomatoes. Until it was mentioned to me a couple of months ago I would've never thought of roasting green beans. Of course, I had to try it. This is a variation on the Roasted Green Bean recipe from the Healthy Recipes Blog. 

Oven Roasted Green Beans (serves 2 – 4) 

¼ – ½ pound green beans 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

½ teaspoon onion powder 

½ teaspoon garlic power 

1) Wash green beans, remove any stems, palce in airtight container and refrigerate 5 hours to overnight. 

2) Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 425 degrees farenheit. 

3) Line a 15 inch by 10 inch baking sheet with aluminum foil (this make cleaup easier). 

4) In a medium bowl, coat green beans with olive oil. 

5) Spread beans in a single layer on baking sheet. 

6) Sprinkle onion powder and garlic powder atop beans. 

7) Bake 10 – 15 minutes in oven. Beans will make “sizzle” sound as they cook. 

8) Cool 1-2 minutes. Serve.

9) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.  

Roasted Green Beans Ready to Eat

Baked Blue Hubbard Squash (whole and pieces)

On a first glance Hubbard squash look like a big, overgrown gourd. They are an edible winter squash and per Food Network are “a large winter squash, typically about 1 foot wide and 15 to 20 pounds in weight. It has very bumpy skin that comes in different colors: dark green, pale blue-green, orange or yellow. Inside, the flesh ranges from yellow to orange.” 

The flavor of cooked blue Hubbard squash is tarter than butternut but milder than pumpkin and can vary based on the color of the flesh. To my palette the yellow flesh reminds me of spaghetti squash while the orange is closer to butternut squash. Cooked blue Hubbard squash can be used and eaten like other winter squashes such as butternut or acorn squash. 

If you've never had Blue Hubbard Squash (or cooked whole one) I suggest looking for pieces or quarters as a way to start/try this since the pieces are smaller, lighter and easier to handle due to how large this squash can be and how tough the skin is. 

Recipes for cooking both a whole and pieces of Blue Hubbard Squash are presented here. The recipe for cooking the whole squash is a combination of the one from Food Network's website and the approach I took to cook pieces of this squash two years earlier. For both recipes, I recommend using a roasting pan with handles as I found it helped getting the squash in and out of the oven. 

Baked Blue Hubbard Squash Pieces 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 

2) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. 

3) Place squash, skin side down in roasting pan. 

4) Fill baking dish/roasting pan with 1/8” water. 

5) Loosely cover (tent) roasting pan with aluminum foil. 

6) Place in oven and cook 35 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes or until squash in center of dish/pan is easily pierced with a fork. 

7) When squash is cooked to desired tenderness, remove from oven and let cool uncovered in pan for 5 minutes. 

8) Transfer squash to cutting board and let cool until it can be comfortably touched with your fingers. 

9) Remove the cooked squash from the skin. 

10) Serve or use as you would in other winter squash recipes. Store any unused cooked squash in airtight container in refrigerator. 

Baked Blue Hubbard Squash (Whole Squash) 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 

2) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. 

3) Rinse squash with water. Pat dry. 

4) Place wash and dried squash on flat surface. Using a paring knife, pierce squash 10 times in multiple places as this will prevent squash from exploding while it's in the oven. 

5) Place squash deep baking dish/roasting pan. 

6) Fill roasting pan with 1/8” water. 

7) Place in oven and cook 35 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes or until squash is easily pierced with fork in three places. Skin of the squash may brown or bubble from baking. 

8) When squash is cooked to desired tenderness, remove from oven and let cool uncovered in pan for 15 minutes or until it can be comfortably touched with your fingers. 

9) Carefully cut the squash, removing the skin and scooping out the seeds. (Note, the same paring knife used to pierce squash in step 4 can be used for cutting.) 

10) Serve or use as you would in other winter squash recipes. Store any unused cooked squash in airtight container in refrigerator. 

11) If any part of the squash didn't cook to desired tenderness, follow recipe above to bake Blue Hubbard Squash Pieces to get desired tenderness.

Baked Blue Hubbard Squash

ready to be served or used in 

other winter squash recipes

Shortbread Kiss Cookies

When I was a teenager one of my friends at the time made the classic peanut butter blossom cookies and shared them with us. I don't remember how many of these cookies I ate but being a fan of peanut butter and chocolate I remember they were really good. This experience inspired me years later to create a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe as well as this one which is a variation on the “Russian Tea Cake” recipe from my 1992 edition of “Mrs. Fields Cookie Book”. 

This recipe makes about two dozen cookies and because the Hershey Kiss is inverted or placed pointed side down into the cookie dough it's an easy cookie to transport. I've only used the original milk chocolate Hershey Kiss in this recipe and recommend using any Hershey kiss which is solid throughout like the original. 

Shortbread Kiss Cookies (makes two dozen/24 cookies) 

1 cup (two sticks) butter at room temperature 

½ cup confectioners' sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 cups flour, all-purpose recommended 

Place oven rack on middle run setting. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended. Add vanilla extract. Mix. Add flour. Mix until thorough combined. 

Shape tablespoon's worth of dough into a ball about 1 inch in diameter.  Place on non-stick cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. 

Remove foil wrapper from Hershey Kisses. Place kiss pointed side down into center of each ball. 

Bake in pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool cookies on wire rack. Serve. 

If transporting cookies, make sure they are thoroughly cooled and place wax paper between each layer of cookies to keep them from sticking.

“Rough and Quick” Roasted Tomato Sauce (makes about 1 ½ cups of sauce)

I found myself at the end of last summer with an abudance of local tomatoes which were not of the Roma or Italian Plum variety. The thought of making slow roast tomatoes crossed my mind followed by the thought of making a roasted tomato sauce which would take far less time, under 2 hours from start to finish, and could be portioned out and frozen for later use. Only the third batch made it to the freezer. The first batch was completely consumed within an hour of coming out of the oven, the second lasted one week in the refrigerator and its remainder was consumed while the third batch was being cooked being the reason why the third batch made it to the freezer. 

This recipe uses all of the tomato,--skin, seeds, etc. If this is not your idea of tomato sauce feel free to stop reading here and go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation and check out their tomato sauce recipes. 

If you're planning to consume this sauce 1-2 weeks from making I recommend storing in an appropriate container in the back of the refrigerator. If you're planning to consume this sauce several months from making I recommend portioning out the batch to size(s) which work for your meal planning, place in freezer-safe bags or containers and freeze. To thaw, let sauce sit on the on the counter top for a few minutes if portion is small enough or place in luke warm water to thaw slowly. If you end up consuming this as soon as it comes out of the oven I recommend waiting at least 10-15 minutes for sauce to cool before eating. This is good as is, on homemade foccia bread or added to pasta. 

“Rough and Quick” Roasted Tomato Sauce (makes about 1 ½ cups of sauce) 

4 cups diced tomatoes (about 4 large or 6 medium size tomatoes) 

¼ cup olive or canola oil 

1 – 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic or 1 – 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 

1 ¼ teaspoons dried italian seasoning 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 

2) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. 

3) Wash and dry tomatoes. Dice and place in 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish. 

4) Add oil, garlic and italian seasoning to baking dish. 

5) Stir all ingredients in baking dish two to five times or until coarsely mixed. 

6) Place in oven and cook 35 minutes – 1 hour until sauce is desired consistency, checking every 20 minutes and turning dish as needed to get an even roast.  

7) Remove sauce from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes if serving immediately. Otherwise, let sauce cool completely, about 1-3 hours, store in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks or portion out to freezer-safe bags or containers and freeze for later use.

The portion of the second batch which made 

it to the refrigerator and lasted for one week

Three Ingredient Lemonade for One (makes approximately 2 cups)

Since trying mediterranean chickpea salad, on demand blueberry jam, and making strawberry jam every June there's always a bottle of lemon juice in my refrigerator. With summer in full gear here in New England, I decided to try my hand at homemade lemonade using my recipes for cold brew iced tea and homemade sports drink as guidelines. This is the result. 

1 cup water at room temperature 

1 cup cold water 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1/8 – ¼ teaspoon sweetener such as sugar or stevia 

Pinch of salt (optional) 

Using container which can hold 2 or more cups of liquid, like a quart-size mason jar, pour room temperature water and lemon juice into container. Add salt, if using. Stir. Add cold water. Stir again. Serve.

Turkey Chili for a crowd (12 servings)

In a recent perusal through my recipes, I came across this one which was hand copied from a Betty Crocker slow-cooker recipe cookbook one of my friends had purchased. Having inherited my mother's 1970ish hand wash only vintage Rival crockpot and preferring to use as few pots and pans as possible, I chose to copy this recipe as it was quick to make and one of the few in the book which used one 6 quart pot on stove top. Where this recipe makes a good amount of chili, leftovers can be frozen then thawed and eaten within three months. 

Turkey Chili 

2 pounds ground turkey 

2 cups chopped onions 

3 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, undrained 

3 16 – 15 ounce cans kidney, lima, black or chili beans 

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce 

¼ cup chili powder 

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

½ teaspoon black pepper 

Using a 6 quart dutch oven or 8 quart stockpot, cook turkey and onions over medium heat for 15 minutes or until turkey appears to be cooked through. Stir in remaining ingredients, breaking up whole tomatoes. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 1 ¼ hours.

Peas with Onion and Soy Sauce (serves 1)

This recipe was inspired by a copy of a “Peas and Shell Macaroni” recipe from Jeanne Ambutter of “Heritage Cooking”, a Boston, MA based test kitchen and food demonstration business from the mid-twentieth centry, from a “Buttery Peas and Shallot” recipe from America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook and the need to use up a onion. 

 

This is a relatively quick recipe and paired with a hard boiled egg, 1 – 2 slices of toast, left over rice or chicken makes a meal for one. 

 

Peas with Onion and Soy Sauce for one 

 

1 tablespoon canola oil 

¾ cup onion, diced 

1 ¼ cup frozen peas 

1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional) 

 

1) In 3 quart pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. 

2) Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 2 – 5 minutes. 

3) Stir in peas and cook 2 – 5 minutes or until peas can be pieced with fork. 

4) Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce. 

5) Serve. 

6) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator. 

 

 

 

Peas with Onion 

and Soy Sauce ready to eat

Oatmeal peanut butter cookies (makes 30 cookies)

This is a quick drop cookie recipe which can be easily doubled and freezes well. If planning to freeze these cookies after making them, I recommend making the cookies on the small size as they'll thaw faster.

Oatmeal peanut butter cookies 

1 egg 

¼ cup (or ½ stick) butter or margarine 

½ cup white sugar 

½ cup brown sugar 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract  

1 tablespoon canola oil 

1 tablespoon water 

2 ¼ cups oatmeal 

1 ¼ cups peanut butter 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung and pre-heat oven to 375 degrees farneheit. 

2) In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, sugars, vanilla extract, oil and water. 

3) Add peanut butter. Mix. 

4) Add oatmeal and baking soda. Mix. 

5) Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto non-stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in oven for 6 – 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool cookies on wire rack.

6) Repeat step 5 as many times as needed. 

Serve or store cooled cookies in airtight container.  If freezing, place cookies in freezer safe container and thaw on counter top prior to serving.  

Small Batch Blueberry Jam (makes about 5 ounces)

While making strawberry jam, I would wonder how difficult it would be to make a low sugar blueberry jam. In search for such a recipe, I located a Pectin free, low sugar blueberry jam recipe on the Mother Earth News website which allows use of either fresh or frozen blueberries. This Mother Earth News recipe makes 4 pints or about 8 jelly jars worth of jam and gives instruction on how to can/preserve the jam using either hot water bath or atmospheric steam canner. 

Being more interested in using blueberries I froze when in season and not having 12 cups (6 pints) in my freezer, I adjusted this recipe for 1 pint of blueberries and skipped the canning process. The end result is about 5 ounces or ¼ pint of jam which takes under an hour to make and will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. I recommend letting the jam completely cool before serving to get the full flavor of the blueberries.  

Small Batch Blueberry Jam 

1 pint or about 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen 

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

¼ cup to ¼ cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar 

1) Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the set. 

2) Combine the blueberries and lemon juice in heavy saucepan over low heat. 

3) Let the berries cook for a few minutes over low heat (about 10 minutes for frozen), until they begin to break down, and then crush them with a potato masher. 

4) After the mixture is juicy with crushed fruit, increase heat to high and add 1⁄4 cup of sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar and bring to a boil. 

5) Boil vigorously and stir continuously until the mixture is fairly thick, about 6-15 minutes. You’ll have reached the jam stage when a spoonful of jam dropped onto a cold plate holds its shape and you can leave a clean trail by passing your finger through the mixture. 

6) Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. 

7) Taste the jam and add the additional sweetener, 1 teaspoon at a time, if desired 

8) Ladle the hot jam into heat proof container with a lid. 

9) Allow jam to cool uncovered for 1-2 hours. 

10) Cover jam, store jam in refrigerator and use within 3 weeks. 

Small batch of Blueberry Jam cooling on counter top

Mediterranean Chicken for a crowd (14 servings)

In thinking of one dish meals which I've made, I remembered this one. It was hand copied from a Betty Crocker slow-cooker recipe cookbook one of my friends had purchased. While the original recipe calls for cooking this in crockpot or slow-cooker I chose to use a 3-inch deep 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish and bake in the oven. 

Mediterranean Chicken 

 

1 medium butternut squash, cut into 2-inch pieces 

1 cup chopped bell pepper 

12 chicken breast tenders or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts each cut into 3 pieces 

1 14 ounce can stewed or diced tomatoes 

½ cup salsa 

¼ cup raisins 

¼ teaspoon cinnamon 

¼ teaspoon cumin 

Non-stick cooking spray 

 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 

2) Pre-heat oven temperature to 350 degrees farenheit. 

3) If baking dish isn't non-stick spray inside of 3-inch deep 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

 

4) Layer squash, pepper and chicken in baking dish. Pour tomatoes and salsa over chicken, squash and pepper and then evenly sprinkle raisins, cinnamon and cumin on top. 

5) Cover loosely with aluminum foil. 

 

6) Place in oven and cook 45 minutes – 1 1/2 hours or until chicken pieces in the center of the baking dish are no longer pink when cut in half. 

7) Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. 

 

8) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

This recipe is a combination of the peanut butter cookie recipe I learned as a child and the desire to make the classic peanut butter blossom cookies but lacking the Hershey Kisses to do so. While there was an absence of Hershey Kisses in the house there were semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is a quick recipe which makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies (makes 36 cookies)

½ cup (1 stick) butter softened/at room temperature 

 ½ cup sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 egg ½ cup peanut butter 

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 

½ teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon baking powder 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Place oven rack on middle run setting. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix. Add peanut butter. Mix. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix. Gently fold in chocolate chips. 

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto non-stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 

Bake in oven for 7 – 9 minutes or until bottoms appear lightly browned. 

Cool cookies on wire rack.