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applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
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| NEPTUNE STEW - Naturally Gluten Free, 6 Generous Portions and Pumpkin Bread By Oonagh Williams |
We tasted this fish stew at a Deli known as ‘Brooklyn Pickle’ in Syracuse. The food was obviously fresh, and the lines were out the door. I came
home and left out the clams (don’t know whether I’ve been unlucky with clams and mussels or if I truly have an allergic reaction to them — so I
prefer to avoid them). Then I made it the way I wanted it to taste. Add sliced green olives and/or capers if you want – they did.
This would be great for a party get together; make the stew/soup the day before and leave it to gently reheat in a slow cooker. Serve with crusty
bread, salad bowl, and selection of cheeses, as well as one of my evil desserts, and you will have a fabulous party.
I suppose with a tomato base, in New Hampshire we would be inclined to call this a Manhattan Chowder. But I like the title Neptune Stew. A quirky
name might even encourage the children and adults who are picky eaters to give it a try. Tomatoes contain lycopene for health and it's an easy
way to get more fish into your diet.
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 stalks/ribs of celery, washed and finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
28 oz can of coarsely chopped tomatoes - not puree or ground. (Just buy can of ordinary tomatoes and squish between your fingers. Update –
ground tomatoes make a nice thick base.)
1 c of water poured into tomato can, swish around
1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1” squares (Do a mix of color if possible, you can buy cut bell peppers in the salad bar for a color selection.)
½ lb mushrooms, washed, halved and sliced
¼ c tomato ketchup - Heinz is gluten free
1 tsp chicken stock concentrate or stock cube (Herb-ox is gluten free)
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp sherry
Optional ½ lb bay scallops (the tiny scallops or sea scallops, quartered)
½ lb small shrimp cooked or raw, thawed and peeled
6 oz can of crab drained, or few fresh clams or ½ lb fresh salmon cut in small cubes
1 can baby sweet corn sliced
1 tsp thyme - optional
Fresh, finely chopped parsley to garnish - optional
1. In a large non-stick pan, mix onions, celery, garlic and olive oil; cook over gentle heat for about 10 minutes until soft.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato water, peppers, mushrooms, tomato ketchup, stock concentrate, and pepper, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and
cook, covered, for about 20 minutes until all vegetables are soft.
3. Add the raw fish, sherry and sweet corn and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
4. Add already cooked fish and stir in freshly grated nutmeg – turn off heat and leave to sit for about 10-15 minutes to heat through thoroughly
and allow flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with sprinkling of fresh parsley, adds more vitamin C.
Note: I have not added any salt due to stock concentrate. You need to judge for your own taste. This is a thick soup/stew. Add some cream or
milk to make it thinner if you want, which also adds more dairy for the kids.
So it’s that time of the year again when women everywhere are frantically planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas amongst everything else they
have to do. The funny thing is that certain dishes have to be included since many family members, especially the children, insist on having them
each year as it’s
‘tradition’. But don’t we women just get so bored recreating the same thing all the time, even though there is a level of comfort and reassurance
for us as we cook the meal our mothers used to make and so help to perpetuate good family times.
Slightly sweet quick breads are a tradition but instead of reaching for the handy box, try this pumpkin bread. You should have all the ingredients
in the cupboard by now for Thanksgiving. Instead of cooking the bread in the normal, but boring loaf pan, try making mini Bundts or even the
standard large bundt pan. The six-hole mini Bundt tins are available locally for about $15 in non-stick cast iron and make a very attractive
addition to the dinner table — children especially like having their own mini bread. Even better, this bread freezes well so you can get going now,
knowing one job is out of the way. The recipe can easily be halved.
PUMPKIN BREAD - you can contact me for a gluten free version
1 (15oz?) can solid pack pumpkin, not pie filling (ingredient list should only be pumpkin)
2+1/2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil (Applesauce makes a reasonable substitution for oil in the recipe)
4 extra large eggs (or 5 large eggs)
2/3 c water
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground allspice
grated fresh nutmeg
½ tsp ground cardamom
(or 4-6 tsp apple pie or pumpkin pie spice in total to replace individual spices. Trader Joe’s make an excellent pumpkin pie spice significantly
cheaper than those found in supermarkets.)
3-1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 c craisins
1/3 c golden or ordinary raisins
1/3 c chopped pecans or other nuts
1. Put all ingredients (except for fruit and nuts) together in large mixing bowl and beat well for 2 minutes until air bubbles are visible. Stir in fruit
and nuts.
2. Pour into two well-greased 9 x 5” loaf pans or muffin tins, or twelve mini bundt tins (bundt tins will be well filled) and bake at 350o for 1 hour 15
minutes for loaf and 20-30 minutes for muffins/bundts. Or 2 x 10” bundt pans for about 45-55 minutes.
Cake should be well risen, it will be dark brown because of spices, firm at edges, soft but firm to the touch and pulling away from sides. Remove
from oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes, turn out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Cake keeps fresh for quite a few days, freezes
and nukes well.
Note: If you like a really spicy cake, add an additional teaspoon of spice. To make your own pumpkin pie spice: combine 4 teaspoons ground
cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick of butter, softened, unsalted if you have it
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 of block) at room temperature (lite is fine, but it gives a softer texture)
1 + 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp cream
Beat all frosting ingredients together until desired consistency. Add more or less sugar and cream to your preferred taste. If you used softened
butter then it will spread easily, but it will need to be refrigerated in order to use a piping bag and decorative pipe. The cream makes it taste like
melted Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream, but you can get away with using milk.
home and left out the clams (don’t know whether I’ve been unlucky with clams and mussels or if I truly have an allergic reaction to them — so I
prefer to avoid them). Then I made it the way I wanted it to taste. Add sliced green olives and/or capers if you want – they did.
This would be great for a party get together; make the stew/soup the day before and leave it to gently reheat in a slow cooker. Serve with crusty
bread, salad bowl, and selection of cheeses, as well as one of my evil desserts, and you will have a fabulous party.
I suppose with a tomato base, in New Hampshire we would be inclined to call this a Manhattan Chowder. But I like the title Neptune Stew. A quirky
name might even encourage the children and adults who are picky eaters to give it a try. Tomatoes contain lycopene for health and it's an easy
way to get more fish into your diet.
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 stalks/ribs of celery, washed and finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
28 oz can of coarsely chopped tomatoes - not puree or ground. (Just buy can of ordinary tomatoes and squish between your fingers. Update –
ground tomatoes make a nice thick base.)
1 c of water poured into tomato can, swish around
1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1” squares (Do a mix of color if possible, you can buy cut bell peppers in the salad bar for a color selection.)
½ lb mushrooms, washed, halved and sliced
¼ c tomato ketchup - Heinz is gluten free
1 tsp chicken stock concentrate or stock cube (Herb-ox is gluten free)
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp sherry
Optional ½ lb bay scallops (the tiny scallops or sea scallops, quartered)
½ lb small shrimp cooked or raw, thawed and peeled
6 oz can of crab drained, or few fresh clams or ½ lb fresh salmon cut in small cubes
1 can baby sweet corn sliced
1 tsp thyme - optional
Fresh, finely chopped parsley to garnish - optional
1. In a large non-stick pan, mix onions, celery, garlic and olive oil; cook over gentle heat for about 10 minutes until soft.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato water, peppers, mushrooms, tomato ketchup, stock concentrate, and pepper, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and
cook, covered, for about 20 minutes until all vegetables are soft.
3. Add the raw fish, sherry and sweet corn and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
4. Add already cooked fish and stir in freshly grated nutmeg – turn off heat and leave to sit for about 10-15 minutes to heat through thoroughly
and allow flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with sprinkling of fresh parsley, adds more vitamin C.
Note: I have not added any salt due to stock concentrate. You need to judge for your own taste. This is a thick soup/stew. Add some cream or
milk to make it thinner if you want, which also adds more dairy for the kids.
So it’s that time of the year again when women everywhere are frantically planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas amongst everything else they
have to do. The funny thing is that certain dishes have to be included since many family members, especially the children, insist on having them
each year as it’s
‘tradition’. But don’t we women just get so bored recreating the same thing all the time, even though there is a level of comfort and reassurance
for us as we cook the meal our mothers used to make and so help to perpetuate good family times.
Slightly sweet quick breads are a tradition but instead of reaching for the handy box, try this pumpkin bread. You should have all the ingredients
in the cupboard by now for Thanksgiving. Instead of cooking the bread in the normal, but boring loaf pan, try making mini Bundts or even the
standard large bundt pan. The six-hole mini Bundt tins are available locally for about $15 in non-stick cast iron and make a very attractive
addition to the dinner table — children especially like having their own mini bread. Even better, this bread freezes well so you can get going now,
knowing one job is out of the way. The recipe can easily be halved.
PUMPKIN BREAD - you can contact me for a gluten free version
1 (15oz?) can solid pack pumpkin, not pie filling (ingredient list should only be pumpkin)
2+1/2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil (Applesauce makes a reasonable substitution for oil in the recipe)
4 extra large eggs (or 5 large eggs)
2/3 c water
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground allspice
grated fresh nutmeg
½ tsp ground cardamom
(or 4-6 tsp apple pie or pumpkin pie spice in total to replace individual spices. Trader Joe’s make an excellent pumpkin pie spice significantly
cheaper than those found in supermarkets.)
3-1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 c craisins
1/3 c golden or ordinary raisins
1/3 c chopped pecans or other nuts
1. Put all ingredients (except for fruit and nuts) together in large mixing bowl and beat well for 2 minutes until air bubbles are visible. Stir in fruit
and nuts.
2. Pour into two well-greased 9 x 5” loaf pans or muffin tins, or twelve mini bundt tins (bundt tins will be well filled) and bake at 350o for 1 hour 15
minutes for loaf and 20-30 minutes for muffins/bundts. Or 2 x 10” bundt pans for about 45-55 minutes.
Cake should be well risen, it will be dark brown because of spices, firm at edges, soft but firm to the touch and pulling away from sides. Remove
from oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes, turn out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Cake keeps fresh for quite a few days, freezes
and nukes well.
Note: If you like a really spicy cake, add an additional teaspoon of spice. To make your own pumpkin pie spice: combine 4 teaspoons ground
cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick of butter, softened, unsalted if you have it
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 of block) at room temperature (lite is fine, but it gives a softer texture)
1 + 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp cream
Beat all frosting ingredients together until desired consistency. Add more or less sugar and cream to your preferred taste. If you used softened
butter then it will spread easily, but it will need to be refrigerated in order to use a piping bag and decorative pipe. The cream makes it taste like
melted Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream, but you can get away with using milk.