December 2018

First of all, I love tomato soup. And knitting. (It turns out that these two things can be a very dangerous combination; strange, I know, but trust me.) Last Hallowe’en, I had almost finished a pair of knitted slippers which I had been working on for a while—all that remained was to add grippy treads to the soles. But I didn’t have time to add them immediately, and I was excited to finally try them on, so I was wearing them when my mom called me in for lunch. Tomato soup and toast with fresh goat cheese. Yum. And so I, in my very slippery slippers, ran across the very slippery wood floor, and (you guessed it) I slipped. Not just slipped! My feet shot out from under me and I crashed to the ground, landing on my arm. My concerned mother, in an attempt to discern the extent of my injuries, asked if I could wiggle my fingers. Since I could, she was confident that I hadn’t broken anything (it turns out that that is not a good test for broken bones). And it wasn’t until the doctor insisted that I get an X-ray that we realized that there was anything wrong. My arm healed quickly, though, and tomato soup is still one of my favorite foods. I’ve experimented with several recipes, and this one’s my favorite. Enjoy—and please walk carefully when you smell its delicious aroma… Taken by the author Makes four servings Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced, or roasted peppers from a jar (the latter adds a particularly nice flavor) 1 large onion, sliced 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 to 2 cloves garlic, chopped 4 cups / 800g chopped tomatoes (canned tomatoes work well, too—include their juice) 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp. dried thyme 1 cup / 250ml chicken/vegetable stock Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 13 oz / 400g cooked / canned cannellini beans (optional) 1 cup / 250ml cream (optional)   Method Place the oil in a 3-quart saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion, pepper, carrot, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans (if using), thyme, and stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. You can proceed with the next step now, or simmer for up to 60 minutes longer for a deeper flavor. The beans will give a creamier, thicker, texture to the soup so you may wish to add more liquid at the end. Allow the soup to cool to room temperature. (You can refrigerate it for up to two days at this point before continuing.) When the soup is cool, add the cream and purée in a blender or food processor. Then, adjust seasonings and reheat before serving. Lina Martinez Nocito, 13Sunderland, MA

Every year, my family and I harvest the honey from our bee hives. We scrape off the thin lacing of wax capping, and honey glistens on the frame. It comes in a variety of colors, such as yellow-gold, a deep rust colored gold, and dark brown. It is rich with flavor, a hint of flowers and clover. We spin the frames with honey in a special contraption that shakes all of the honey off, then filter it 3 times. I made a dessert with this honey and entered it into the 4-H fair, where it won the grand champion prize. Enjoy the dessert I created. Taken in the Stone Soup test kitchen Makes approximately 18 bars Ingredients Bottom layer: ½ cup / 115g butter ⅓  cup packed  / 75g light brown sugar 1¼ cup / 160g all-purpose (plain) flour Top layer: 2 eggs ½ cup packed / 110g light brown sugar ½ cup / 170g honey ⅓ cup / 45g all-purpose (plain) flour 1½ cup / 180g dried tart cherries ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup / 30g shredded coconut Method Heat the oven to 350℉  / 180℃. Crumble first three ingredients together until there are very few lumps, either by rubbing with your fingers or with a quick blast in a food processor. Make sure that there are no huge balls of butter. Gently press the mixture into a 9 x 9”/ 23 x 23cm pan. Bake for 10 minutes. While it is baking, start on the top layer. Beat together the eggs, sugar, and honey, until the mixture is light and thick. Stir in the other dry ingredients and use a spoon to spread it evenly over the baked bottom layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden. Stick a toothpick into the middle of the pan when you think they are ready, and make sure that no batter comes off on the toothpick. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and cut the bars into equal rectangles. Arielle Kouyoumdjian, 11Fairfax, VA

When I think of a crepe cake, I think of the dainty mounds of crepes stealing the spotlight in a bakery window, the creamy sensation that explodes in my mouth after I take a bite. My family and I often go to a little bakery by my home to buy a slice of matcha crepe cake. One day, I thought, why not make one in my own kitchen? I decided to try with my friend Olivia. It seemed a bit intimidating, but how hard could it be? On Saturday, we met at my house. We blended the crepe ingredients together to make a liquid green mixture, and then put it in the fridge to settle. When mixing the cream to go between the layers of crepes, we accidentally flung heavy cream everywhere. That attracted my dog, Archie. He made a beeline for any cream he saw, and we laughed as he smudged cream all over his snout. After three minutes, the cream hardened into an airy, white fluff, stiff enough to form firm peaks as we pulled the mixer out of the bowl. Two hours later, we oiled the pan to cook a crepe. It wasn’t until we spread the batter that we realized neither of us knew how to flip it. In the end, we managed a maneuver with forks and a spatula, and ended up flipping, but also ripping, the crepe. We called it our “tester”, gobbled it up, and then made another one using that spatula operation. Our crepes looked better and better, and in the end, we had a beautiful stack of 20 matcha crepes. We spread the cream with a knife and layered them one by one. Finally, we sprinkled matcha powder on top with a sieve, and then gathered some mint leaves from outside to position on the cake. The end product looked surprisingly like a store-bought crepe cake. As we were devouring our masterpiece, the combination of the delicate crepes and the sweet cream made every bite melt on my tongue and ooze with flavor. I was surprised that it was such a success, and I learned never to underestimate the power of a good recipe, quality ingredients, and some determination. Taken by the author Ingredients For the crepe batter: 1 ½ cups / 350ml milk 3 eggs 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp matcha powder 1 cup  / 130g all-purpose flour 2 tbsp  / 30g melted butter 1 tsp baking powder For the cream: 2¼ cup / 540ml heavy whipping cream 2 tsp sugar Method Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together. You should have a liquid green mixture with a consistency similar to a thoroughly blended smoothie. Put the batter through a sieve, pushing through any lumps, and let it sit in the refrigerator for two hours. In a separate bowl, add the sugar to the heavy whipping cream, and whisk it until it is thick, but easily spreadable. Put it in the refrigerator. Butter a 10” / 25cm pan lightly and pour enough batter in the pan to thinly cover the bottom of the pan. Cook both sides of the crepe. To do this effectively, let the first side cook for a little while and then when the center is firm and the edges are starting to look cooked, try scooping up the edges of the crepe with a thin, metal spatula. Then shake the pan a little to free the rest, and flip the crepe with the help of some utensils. You may need to practice a few times! Do this with the rest of the batter, ending up with 20-25 crepes. Let your crepes cool down, then stack them one on top of the other spreading a thin layer of cream in between each layer. You may want to sprinkle some matcha powder on top of the cake, but this is optional. To make it look more professional, try sprinkling it with your sieve. I put mint leaves on my cake, but feel free to put what you want on yours, such as raspberries or strawberries. Enjoy! Alicia Xin, 13Scardsale, NY