February Diva Luncheon Menu

I just had to share all the yummy recipes that we had at our first Running Diva Lunch (which also happened to be a celebration for Danielle's expectant bundle of joy).

Sara's Scrumptious Salad
package of salad greens
green pepper chopped
cucumber chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved
avocado chopped
goat cheese-package
sliced almonds-handful
cranberries-handful
marinated cooked chicken, chopped
Layer ingredients in a bowl. Offer dressings...Sara had plenty on hand ;o)

Kim's Magnificient Minestrone Soup
(from Best Life Recipes-Bob Greene)

2 tbl EVOO
1 med. zucchini cut into 1/2 slices
1 med. summer squash cut into 1/2 slices
1 large carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp italian seasoning
4 cups all natural reduced sodium chicken broth
15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup whole wheat elbow pasta
3 fresh thyme sprigs (i used 1 tsp dried thyme)
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in soup pot over med. high heat. Add zucchini, squash, carrot, onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies start to soften, 10 minutes. Stir in broth and diced tomatoes, cover mixture, and bring to a boil. Add beans, pasta, and thyme, and cook, uncovered, at a low boil until the pasta is done, about 10 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs and season mixture with salt and pepper.

Peg's Awesome Artisian Bread

Here is the recipe for the white bread - this is an excerpt from there website.

Our book had great coverage in “The Week” magazine on April 18th (page 30 in the paper version). But their version of our recipe has you throwing in 4 cups of water, rather than the correct 3 cups (see the fine print on the right, above). Please use 3 cups, or you’ll have pancake batter! The correct version of our basic recipe in the book (page 26) is:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the pizza peel
And then, you know the drill. Mix with a spoon in a food-safe bucket, let it rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours, then into the fridge for two weeks. Tear off chunks, shape, rest, and bake as needed. And you all know you can decrease the yeast (http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85) and the salt if you like it. Details in the book.
But there it is, pretty much.

The wheat bread recipe is:

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 vital wheat gluten
4 cups lukewarm water
This will make 2 of the bigger loafs or 4 small ones.

There is a video on how to shape the dough on the website.

Lisa's Lucious Chocolate Cake

2/3 cup shortening
1 2/3 cup white sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour pans. Cream shortening, sugar and eggs until fluffy. Then beat mixture on high for 5 minutes. In a seperate bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Put the vanilla in the water. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar/eggs mixture alternating with the vanilla/water mixture. Bake at 350, round pans take about 35 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick margarine at room temp
a bit of milk

Mix with blender, add milk until frosting consistency