This is a favorite of mine. When my friend Sue Ann Harmon and I are down or having a bad day, a pot of this soup and a loaf of fresh bread help us soar to new heights.

# 4 medium onions, minced
# 2 cloves garlic, minced
# 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
# 2 pounds fresh mushrooms, chopped
# 2 cups light whipping cream
# 2 cups beef stock
# 1 cup Parmesan cheese
# 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
# Chopped fresh parsley

Sauté onions and garlic in butter in Dutch oven over medium heat until onions are tender.

Add mushrooms and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until tender.

Gradually add cream and stock.

Continue cooking until thoroughly heated.

Do not boil.

Sprinkle each serving with cheese, almonds, and parsley.

Yield: 21/2 quarts soup.

From Kentucky’s Best, Fifty Years of Great Recipes
by Linda Allison-Lewis. University Press of Kentucky.

* 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1-1/2 cups milk
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup crackling

Notes: Crackling are the crisp bits left in the fat after meat is fried.

Preheat oven to 400°

Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, and cracklings.

Combine with cornmeal mixture.
Beat well and pout into hot, greased iron skillet.

Bake until brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Yield: 8 servings.

From Kentucky’s Best, Fifty Years of Great Recipes
by Linda Allison-Lewis. University Press of Kentucky.

1 quart 2% milk
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup 3-minute grits
4 ounces Swiss or Gruyère cheese, grated (1 cup)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/4 cup)Preheat oven to 375°.

Bring milk and butter to a slow boil and stir in grits slowly.

Stir often until mixture thickens.

Put in large bowl and beat with electric mixer until grits become creamy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add Swiss cheese, salt, and pepper. Mix well and pour into greased 2-quart casserole.

Dot with butter and sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8.

From Kentucky’s Best, Fifty Years of Great Recipes
by Linda Allison-Lewis. University Press of Kentucky.

In Whole Grains for Busy People, Lorna Sass gives you a crash course on the plethora of easy-to-make, tasty-to-eat grains that are readily available, and then goes a step further by sharing 125 tempting recipes that focus exclusively on the grains and how to bring out their maximum flavor. Want to incorporate some whole grains into your dinner tonight? Try this recipe.

* 1 pound boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika or other paprika

* ½ teaspoon granulated garlic

* ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

* 3½ cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed

* 1 tablespoon tomato paste

* 2 cups quinoa

* ½ cup finely chopped dry-cured chorizo

* 1 cup frozen peas

* ½ cup thin strips roasted red bell pepper, preferably fire-roasted

* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy 3-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat.

Brown the chicken pieces, using tongs to turn, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Turn off the heat and let the pan cool for a minute. Stir the paprika, garlic, and red pepper flakes into the hot oil in the pot.

Stir the broth into the pot, taking care to scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom. Blend in the tomato paste, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the quinoa and chorizo. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 12 minutes.

Add salt to taste. Stir in the chicken. Cover and cook over low heat until the quinoa is done—it should have no opaque white dot in the center—and the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. If the mixture seems dry and the chicken or quinoa is not thoroughly cooked, stir in a little more broth or some water, cover, and cook a few minutes longer.

Stir in the peas and roasted red pepper. Cover and let sit for 1 minute. Stir in the parsley just before serving.

Other ideas:

* Use cooked chicken or turkey; skip the browning step and simply stir it in for the last few minutes of cooking.

* Add 6 ounces peeled, medium shrimp; stir them in for the last few minutes of cooking.

Pashtida is a Hebrew word derived from German (pastete) and Italian (pestette) . It has been used since the Middle Ages for any baked dish based on a batter of eggs and cheese, vegetables, meat, fish, or any combination thereof, with or without a crust. This dish by Uri Scheft of the Lechamim Bakery in Tel Aviv is adapted from “The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey” by Janna Gur (Schocken, $35). Cheese-based pashtidas like this one are a staple of Shavuot.

The Pastry Shell (Crust)

* 350 grams (12 1/2 ounces, 2 1/2 cups) flour
* 1 level teaspoon salt
* 250 grams (9 ounces) chilled butter, cut into pieces
* 70 milliliters (2 1/2 fluid ounces) cold water

The Filling

* 1 eggplant, diced
olive oil for baking
* 1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 leek (white part only), sliced thinly
* 3 sweet red peppers
* 1 cup fresh parsley or coriander, chopped
* 500 grams (1 pound 2 ounces) feta cheese, diced
* 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
70 grams (2 1/2 ounces) shelled pumpkin seeds

Sauce Royale

* 750 milliliters (1 1/2 pint, or 3 cups) whipping cream
* 4 eggs
* pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1. Prepare the pastry shell: Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Add chilled butter and pulse until the mixture forms crumbs. Add water and pulse only until a ball of smooth dough is formed. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

2. Roll out a thin layer of dough on a well-floured surface and line the quiche pans. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Prepare the filling: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Roast the peppers over an open flame until the skin is charred. Cool in a sealed plastic bag (to make peeling easier). Peel, remove seeds and membranes, and cut into strips.

5. Pour some olive oil over the eggplant and bake for about 20 minutes, until the cubes are light brown and tender. Remove but don’t turn the oven off.

6. Saute the onions and leeks in olive oil until they turn translucent. Remove from the pan and cool.

7. Prepare the Sauce Royale: Combine all the ingredients into a smooth mixture.

8. Assemble and bake: Spread the onion-leek mixture on the pastry shell, lay on the eggplant cubes and pepper strips, sprinkle with parsley or coriander and carefully pour on the sauce. Arrange the cheese cubes and cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds.

9. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. If the quiche browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil and remove the foil 5 minutes before taking the quiche out of the oven.

Makes two 10-inch quiche.