With autumn season underway, hearty soups become a favorite…warming our bodies as well as our inner spirits. This vegetarian Garbanzo Bean Soup from Joanne’s blog Ugly Duckling Bakery is a semi-thick soup that you will really enjoy! I used spinach in my soup rather than kale just because that is what I had in the refrigerator. But I look forward to trying kale next time because that sounds like a really interesting change. — Carole
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My son enjoys chocolate cake with white frosting for his birthday. So this year, I used this Simple Chocolate Cake recipe . It is one that I have tried previously and have found to be excellent. Devin and his soon-to-be-wife, Kayla, were delighted with this chocolate cake describing it as perfectly moist and flavorful.
You can’t go wrong following the step-by-step video with Stephanie Jaworski. She does such a terrific job describing exactly what to do. (I did add freshly brewed hazelnut coffee and not the water to this recipe.)
The buttercream frosting by Heather from the The Toasty Kitchen is a Whipped Buttercream Frosting recipe that is loaded with butter! Consequently, I frosted only the middle as well as the top and froze the rest. Hersey’s chocolate is sprinkled on the top.
There is a quick helpful video on The Toasty Kitchen blog to preview before making the frosting. #toastykitchen
Mac and Cheese is well known as a comfort food, but adding pesto really takes it to the next level. This Creamy Pesto Mac & Cheese recipe comes from Shelley’s Cookie and Cups website. I added a can of solid tuna fish to this recipe right along with the cheese sauce. When removing the tuna from the can, I try to break the tuna in large solid chunks rather than shred or mash the tuna into the dish. I find that Diamond Solid Tuna in water is the best tuna for this because the canned tuna is already in solid pieces and easy to remove.
I used 1/2 cup of homemade basil pesto (rather than the 1/4 cup) and Vermont’s Farmhouse Cabot Reserve . These two ingredients really make this dish outstanding. The breadcrumb topping that I used was Progresso’s Italian Breadcrumb. Leave a comment if you try it out! — Good Luck! — Carole
Vermont Food Librarian 