Mindy

I made this last night as a change from the corn bread that I usually serve when I make black bean soup. The family loved it and I will definitely make it again sometime. I did make in the microwave like one of the other reviews said and because I'd doubled the recipe had to cook it longer, but it turned out just fine. It was probably a touch more dense than the steamed version would be, but it was still tasty. We had the leftovers for breakfast (warmed with a little milk on top) and it was good as that too.

The recipe should have at least 3 times the amount of liquid stated (even for a slow cookier) since you need a 2 to 1 ratio even to just cook lentils. Anyway, I made this last night for dinner as I've been experimenting with caraway seeds lately. I feel that this recipe is a good solid base and would produce a tasty, warming soup as written. However, I did make the following changes to suit our tastes. We are vegetarian so I substituted vegetable broth (2 quarts) for the chicken stock, omitted the ham, but added 1 tsp. liquid smoke and 1 Tbs. dark brown sugar to add the smokey sweetness that the ham would have imparted to the soup. I doubled the vegetables, since we like lots of veggies, and doubled all of the spices except for the celery salt since we prefer more seasoned foods. I did not have celery salt so I just added 1/2 tsp. celery seed. (celery salt is just celery seed and salt anyway!) I cooked this on the stove instead of in a slow cooker and like most all stove top soups, I just added more water as necessary. It took about 1 hr. from start to finish. I served the soup with some home made whole wheat rolls. I think the soup tasted better today for lunch as it had time to develop the flavors as if I'd prepared it in a slow cooker. I will probably make this again sometime as I like to change up the seasonings in the different bean/lentil soups that I make.

Made these today for the kids and they devoured them. I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it more like the banana bread that I make. I added 1 tsp. cinnamon and a 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice to the dry ingredients, substituted 1 tbs. ground flax whisked with 1/4 for the egg, and added 2 tsp. vanilla to the wet ingredients. After combining I added 1/2 cup chopped pecans because my son wanted nuts in the muffins. For the topping, I doubled the butter and flour and added a pinch of salt so I would have enough to cover all the muffins. The muffins came out incredibly moist and the topping caramelized a bit on mine so they tasted reminiscent of pralines. I gave the recipe 5 stars because it is a good recipe and works well, however if I make them again I will reduce the sugar in the muffin batter to 1/2 cup as I prefer a less sweet muffin for breakfast. As written (especially if you include the topping) they're as sweet as most cakes.

We really enjoyed this. I did have to increase the cumin, and like some other reviews suggested I added some red wine and crushed red pepper flakes. The spicy pepper really complemented the dish well. I served this over a simple onion and garlic quinoa pilaf for a healthy, clean meal.

This was a delicious cake! But like other reviewers, I wish I would have added more lemon! I iced the cake with a mixture of lemon juice, powdered sugar, and minced lemon zest. I will be making this again for sure, but with more lemon next time!

Great recipe! Thanks violet! I've made several breads before that have used a sponge starter, but this is the best (and easiest) I've tried so far. This will be my go to recipe for french bread. I think using whole wheat flour for the sponge added a lot in flavor. I had to add about 1/2-1 cup more flour to prevent sticking. I added another 1/2 tsp salt because of this. I was also in a hurry so I shaped the bread after kneading and then baked after the loaves had proofed. About 5 minutes before they were done, I brushed the loaves with olive oil (since we like a more chewy than crunchy crust). Even though it did not have the additional rise, the flavor of the bread was still well developed, had an excellent crumb, and wonderful chewy crust. I made 3 loaves instead of 2 so that they would fit on my pan. A trick for great crusty bread, make steam in your oven. Before preheating the oven, place a metal pie plate or other type of pan on the bottom rack. After the oven is preheated and you've put the loaves in, pour about 1/2 cup of water into the preheated pan and quickly close the oven, do this again about 10-15 minutes later.