RECIPE SWAP: WHEN TEMPERATURES GET COOLER, WARM UP WITH SOUP, STEW AND WARM BREADS

There is definitely the feeling of fall in the air. Crisp cool mornings and clear blue skies free of the haze of high humidity is a welcome sight after a long hot dry summer. With cooler temperatures comes the desire to serve soups, stews and warm breads from the oven.

I can't resist sharing one of our fall favorites with you. My dear cousin, Cindy Dude, is a wonderful cook and we have traded recipes back and forth for years. Several years ago she gave me the recipe for Corn Sausage Chowder. I always serve this chowder with apple cinnamon muffins and apple butter. There is that wonderful combination of pork and apples that is my husband's favorite. I hope your family will enjoy it, too.

Corn Sausage Chowder

1 pound pork sausage, mild or hot, according to taste

1 cup chopped onion

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups water

1 (17 ounce) can creamed style corn

1 (17 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

In pan, cook sausage and onion until browned. Drain on paper towel. Boil together water, potatoes and salt until tender. Add sausage to potatoes and water. Add remaining ingredients and warm through.

I have to add my two cents worth to the recipe like everyone else does. When in a hurry, I use canned sliced or whole potatoes with the water to cook them in just until a little tender. If the chowder is too thick, use the juice from the whole kernel corn to use to dilute.

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Someone else is in the mood for soups. There were two recipes sent in using squash that is still available at the Farmer's Market. They both sound very good.

Zucchini Beef Soup

1 pound beef stew meat

1 tablespoon oil

6 cups water

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup uncooked broken spaghetti

Brown beef in oil. Add next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil. reduce heat. Cover. Simmer 2 hours. Add squash and spaghetti. Cover and cook 16 to 18 minutes. Makes about 2 quarts.

Texas Corn Medley

1/2 onion, chopped

1/8 cup butter

1 medium yellow squash, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped green chilies

salt and pepper to taste

1 (11 ounce) can Mexican corn, drained

1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Saute onion in butter. Add all ingredients except corn and cheese. Saute 5 minutes. Add corn. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand till cheese is melted. Serves 2.

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Recently we had a request for salsa recipes and Judy Reed of Jackson has answered that request with her favorite recipe. She said the hot recipe is very hot, much too hot for her family. The mild recipe suited them just fine. She uses her salsa in just about everything she cooks from spicing up chili or meatloaf to adding a zing to BBQ chicken wings.

Salsa

22 medium tomatoes

jalapeno peppers, chopped, or can use cayenne, Habanera or desired peppers, to taste

2 green bell peppers

1 cup Anaheim green chilies

1/4 cup salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup cider vinegar

Chop all ingredients, in a large pot combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 60 minutes. Pour hot mixture into hot sterilized jars using hot caps and rings. Process in hot water bath 30 minutes.

Mild: use 6 jalapeno and 5 cayenne peppers.

Hot: use 11 jalapeno, 8 cayenne and 2 Habanera peppers.

Judy also noticed at a local orchard, they were placing orders for fresh pears. She says her Walnut Pear Sour Cream Cake looks difficult to prepare, but really isn't. It is long, but well worth the time spent because it is so delicious.

Walnut Pear Sour Cream Cake

1 cup broken walnuts

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 medium pears, or 2 cups, peeled, cored and sliced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream

1/2 cup broken walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-x-9-x-2-inch baking pan. Combine the nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. For the topping, cut the 1/4 cup butter into the 1/3 cup flour to make a coarse crumb mixture. Stir in 3/4 of the nut mixture. Set remaining nut mixture and topping aside.

Toss pears with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda, set aside. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with electric mixer 30 seconds. Beat in white sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to the butter. Beat on low speed after each addition until combined. Spread 2/3 of batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved nut mixture. Layer pears over top. Gently spread remaining batter over pears. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake 10 minutes. For a crunchy top, sprinkle with 1/2 cup more nuts. Bake 45 to 50 minutes more or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan or a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove side of springform pan, if using. Cool at least 1 hour. Serve warm with whipped cream if desired.

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I promised you last week I would share a recipe for Sourdough Bread to be used in a bread machine. Jackie Green of Bloomfield uses the recipe as printed in the cookbook that came with her bread machine. She has included the starter and the bread recipe. Good Luck!

Sourdough Starter

2 cups spring water

1 tablespoon sugar, honey or maple syrup

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon yeast

Beat all ingredients together in a 2-quart bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and place it somewhere warm. (Use a towel, not plastic wrap, to allow airborne wild yeast to enter -- it will contribute to the unique character and flavor of the starter. The mixture will begin to bubble within a few minutes. Initially, it will double in bulk, but as it begins to ferment, it will settle down. Let the mixture sit in a warm place, stirring the liquid back into the batter (as it will separate) once a day for 2 to 5 days. When the bubbling diminishes and it has a sour, yeasty aroma, it is ready to use. Stir the mixture and measure out the amount you need. It will be the consistency of pancake batter.

To Keep Your Starter Going:

Store the finished starter in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Each time you remove some starter to bake, "feed it" with equal amounts of flour and spring water. If you use 1/2 cup of starter, stir in 1/2 cup each of flour and water. Then let the starter sit in a warm place for 12 hours and let the yeast bubble and grow again before returning it to the refrigerator. A starter can be kept indefinitely, just stir and feed it every week or two. Stirring, removing and replenishing your starter serves to feed the remaining batter.

To make the bread, the yeast in the sourdough starter and replace dry yeast. But the starter yeast works much slower and is typically a three-step method, taking from 6 to 24 hours for the dough to rise. This recipe uses the starter for flavor and yet uses dry yeast to speed up the process.

Sourdough Bread

Add all ingredients to bread pan in machine in the order given.

For a 1 1/2 pound loaf:

1/2 cup sourdough starter

3/4 cup warm spring water

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar, honey or maple syrup, optional

1 tablespoon oil, optional

3 cups all purpose flour or bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

For a 2 pound loaf:

2/3 cup sourdough starter

1 cup warm spring water

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar, honey or maple syrup, optional

1 tablespoon oil, optional

4 cups all purpose flour, or bread flour

2 teaspoons yeast

Follow instructions on your particular machine.

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Our good "Friends from Altenburg" are at it again, sending us some family favorite recipes. I hope someday I have the opportunity to meet some of these wonderful cooks.

Pork Chop Bake

6 pork chops

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1 cup grated carrots

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/4 cups milk

Rub chops with salt and pepper. Melt margarine in skillet, brown chops and onions. Put potatoes in 2-quart greased baking dish. Arrange chops on top of potatoes. Add soup and milk to onions in skillet, blend till smooth. Pour over carrots and chops. Cover dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 40 minutes more.

Potato Sausage Casserole

1 pound pork sausage

1/2 cup onion

1 can mushroom soup

1/4 cup water

1 package frozen green beans or canned beans

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Form sausage into 16 meatballs. Brown meatballs and onion till tender, pour off fat. Stir in soup, water, beans and caraway seeds. Pour into 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Stir casserole, then spoon mashed potatoes around edges. Bake 10 more minutes.

Hamburger Casserole

1/4 pound bacon

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

1 can lima beans

1 can pork and beans

Brown bacon, beef and onions. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

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Again this week, I have run out of room before I'm finished sharing recipes with you, but that will be seed for next week. Keep sending in all of your favorite recipes. In the next week or two we will feature pumpkin recipes in celebration of fall. So get those recipes in to be included in the pumpkin sharing.

Have a great week and happy cooking.