Hali's Spinach Ricotta Pie

Crust: Cut 1 cup flour (4/5 white and 1/5 whole wheat works well) with 1/3 cup cold butter. Add 3 T cold buttermilk or enough so that the mix holds together in a ball. Chill for 1 hour.

Filling:
1 lb ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 lb chopped spinach and 1 diced onion sauteed together in butter with pepper, a little salt, and some basil.
3 T flour
1/2 cup grated sharp cheese (or more)
dash nutmeg

Mix everything together and spread into unbaked pie shell. Top with 1 cup sour cream spread to the edges of the crust and top with a generous sprinkling of paprika

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot!

Dean Family Irish Soda Bread

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 t salt
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t soda
2 T sugar

1 stick butter (cold, cut into squares)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (you might not use all of it)

1/2 cup currants soaked in 3 T water
1 T grated orange rind (use organic)

Mix together the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter. Add currant and orange rind. Then add the buttermilk. Start with 1 cup and add more as needed to make a kneedable dough. Flour a cutting board and your hands and kneed for a few minutes (add more flour if it is too sticky).

Butter a souffle pan and place dough inside. Cut a cross on the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. check it after 35 but you very well might have to go longer than 45. It is done when a knife comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too much, turn the heat down to 325.

If you don't have a souffle pan, I'm sure you can just bake it on a cookie sheet.

Blueberry Muffins (from Stonyfield)

Dry:
1 c flour (all purpose)
1 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Wet:
1 egg
1/2 c veggie oil (can substitute 1/4 c applesauce and 1/4 c veggie oil)
1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla

yogurt mix:
1 c yogurt
1 t baking soda

1 c blueberries

In 3 separate bowls, mix together the dry, wet, and yogurt ingredients. Add the dry mix and the yogurt mix alternately into the wet. Fold in blueberries. Put in muffin tin and bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

Collards and Black-Eyed Peas

Wash the collards and then destem them by folding in half and ripping. Lay them all on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, and cut in 1/2 inch strips.

Saute half a diced onion for awhile and throw in the collards. Throw in some garlic, and add a can of tomatoes before everything gets burnt. Cook down for a good long while, maybe 30-40 minutes. Add a can of black-eyed peas at the end.

Serve over rice. Better yet, throw the cooked rice into the skillet as the last step. As Huck Finn says, "things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better."

You can add Worcestershire sauce, or Tabasco sauce, or both, at the table.