On the Eve of Pumpkin

Series: Produce Box, October 25, 2011 Deliver; Published Blog 11


The arrival of a new season brings in new crops. The weather has gotten a little cooler in the mornings and evenings. We have less daylight and more clouds. I love the changing of vegetables in my produce box. It inspired me to try my hand at a new recipe an Old Fashion Pumpkin Cookie.

Check out the list of vegetables I retrieved from my morning porch as I wiped the sleep from my eyes:








- A Sugar Pumpkin Squash



- 2 Garnet Sweet Potatoes



- 1 Large Yellow Onion



- Broccoli



- Celery



- Carrots



- Baby Bok Choy



- Collards



- Nantes Carrots



- Kale



- Fennel



- Green Leaf Lettuce

I am fascinated with a good pumpkin recipe especially during the autumn season. This year a recipe for Old Fashion Pumpkin Cookies and a Sugar Pumpkin squash both happen to be gifted to me on a fine evening. I figure it is a present from the Halloween Fairies and I gladly accept with much gratitude.

I pass this gift on to you to enjoy with your family.

Old Fashion Pumpkin Cookies

Step One

Combine in a bowl the following:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix and set aside.

Step Two

In your mixing bowl add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 cup puree pumpkin (See recipe below.)

Whisk together.

Add in 1/2 cup (1 stick of butter) of softened butter

Then beat in the 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Step Four

Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

Step Five

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. The tops should be solid to touch and bottoms a light shade of brown.

Step Six

Swizzle white chocolate over the tops.

Step Seven

Open mouth, bite down for a moist cookie with a hint of cinnamon and pumpkin delicately warming you up for the cool evening night.

Baked Puree Pumpkin


Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Cut into small wedges.
Remove seeds.
Bake for about 50 minutes.
Remove oven and let it cool.
Carefully slice the hard pumpkin off.

Add the pumpkin pieces to a Cuisinart and puree.

Ready for a bowl of Chili?

Over the years, I've worked on making a bowl of chili to my taste but more so because I LOVE CHILI CHEESE FRIES WITH BBQ SAUCE. It is simply delicious. (Well anything with BBQ sauce taste great.)

So here is my chili recipe that can be flexible for those meat eaters or vegetables only eaters basically a flexitarian recipe. My recipe can be a little time consuming but I figured out some short cuts for those with time commitments around the dinner time.


Meat (or Meatless) Chili

Preheat your stew pot.

For vegetarian version:

Add in your dry spices without oil. - Chili Powder, Cumin, Salt, Garlic powder, Cayenne, Pepper.

Once the spices have heated up. Follow to "Add in a little oil...."

For meat lovers:

Add in about a tablespoon of oil. Then add in your ground turkey (beef or pork or chicken)

While the meat browning- sprinkle your seasonings of chili powder, cumin, salt/pepper, cayenne.

Flip the meat and break it up until almost cooked. (I do not cook the meat all the way because when you add it back into the pot it will finish cooking.)

Remove from the heat and drain (if necessary).

Set aside. It will be added in towards the end of the cooking time.

For both versions:

Turn down the heat a little to below medium.

Add in about 2 tablespoons of oil.

Add in your cubed onion. Cook until clear.

Add in 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.

Add in diced pepper (optional.)

Allow the mixture to softened but don't let the garlic burn.

Short on Time- Easy Method:

The easy method is opening cans;however, for those interested in making your own 15 bean refried beans, chicken stock , or using own homemade stewed tomatoes recipes.

- Open 1 can (14.5 ounces) organic fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies

- Open 1 can (16 ounces) organic refried beans

- About 2 3/4 cups of organic chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarian)

Add in additional seasonings to taste...

For smokey sweet flavor: Add in smoke liquid, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce (2 tbsp) and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Bring the chili to simmer over low heat for about an hour. Remember to stir every 15 minutes and scrap down the sides.

Finally when you think it's almost done.

Add in your ground meat for those meat lovers and allow it to simmer a little longer until meat is fully cooked.

Turn off heat and leave on stove top to cool.

Taste test but don't forget to blow on the spoon! Adjust seasonings if necessary.

NOTES:

Added measurements in case you make your own homemade versions of canned items.

Organic versions can be used for this recipe.

For chili cheese Fries with Barbecue Sauce:

Cook fries according to package. I like them a little extra crunchy.

Spread french fries on a plate and spoon the chili on top.

Add a few swirls of barbecue sauce.

Enjoy with a fork!

Homemade Refried Beans

Making your own homemade refried beans isn't hard. I found through trial and error that it makes a difference in the chili. One thing I found helpful is soaking the beans. I do not recommend the quick couple of hour soak or placing them in a crock pot thinking they will cook. You might be a little disappointed. Just plan ahead the night before!

Soak the beans for 24 hours. Change water at least twice.

Heat up the pot on medium heat.

I like to flavor my beans depending on what recipe I will use them in.

For a chili recipe: I used chili powder and cumin. Season with pepper and salt.

Add in oil.

Drain the beans and add them into the pot. It will sputter with steam.

Stir and Pour water back into the pot to cover the top of the beans. I add about an inch of the top. It will boil away.

At this point you can optionally add in cloves of garlic and peppers to flavor the water.

The beans should be simmering/boiling.

There is a balance of heat that should be found to make sure your beans are becoming tender and the liquid is slowly evaporating. If the water gets to low add about a cup of water back in.

Stir.

Testing the beans. Remove one from the pot very carefully. When you bite into it, it should be soft. If there is a tiny bit of hardness to it, it will not become soft when you smash it. So make sure that when you think it is done, it should smash easily between your teeth.

Once the beans are done, remove from heat, remove garlic cloves and peppers (if you added) and grab your smasher!
Let your strength smash the beans-- transforming into refried beans. It might turn a little gray but don't worry. Season if necessary!

I don't recook them in oil but I add it into chili or burrito stuffing.



Chili Tacos

Have leftover chili? Here's my twist to using leftover chili and making a new dish from the last serving.

I had on hand a package of taco shells. Heat according to package.

I heated up my leftover chili.

I sprinkled cheese on the bottom.

Spooned my heated chili over the top.

Sprinkled cabbage and a little hot sauce.

Spoon guacamole or sour cream on top.

Simple meal made easy with leftover chili!

Enjoy and Have Fun Cooking!

Hey Batter, Batter...

Yes Folks- it is a fly ball over the left field. HOME RUN! We fried that fish...oops I mean baked the fish. Success measured in baseball is by the number of home runs a batter can achieve in a game; success in the kitchen is measured by clean plates, no leftovers, and full bellies of goodness.

My latest endeavor in cooking fish. I've attempted many different ways to cook fish for my husband who simply adores fish. Now if you know me I didn't like fish when I kid. My taste started to change when I tried fresh fish out the lake grilled on flat rocks when camping. When I got married to my fish loving husband, I tried even more to be more adventurous with fish.


After almost 13 years of marriage, fish recipes are starting to pour out of kitchen in new creations.

Parmesan Garlic Salmon

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the sauce to top the fresh/thawed salmon fillet.

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder

pepper/salt to taste

Optional: minced chives

Blend together.

Grab a baking dish line with parchment paper.

Place fish and top with sauce.

Bake until almost flaky which takes about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven and preference.

I grabbed a picture to help remind me to make this meal again since my husband simply enjoyed the flavors of the fish & sauce blending together in each bite.

I paired the dinner with a side dish of broccoli and pasta. The pasta was a cheesy/tomato flavor.

The coolest thing about this meal -- it took only 30 minutes from prep to sitting down at the table to eat.

Have fun cooking!

Granola Expedition

Granola Expedition

Are you hesitant about making your own granola? Not sure if it will turn out and then afraid that you would have to toss it? Or worried that when you looked up the recipe on the Internet you recognized half the ingredients were not budget friendly. Well stop worrying any further! I was in your shoes before now I am confident that I can inspire you to try my recipe. It uses flexible ingredients, relies on few ingredients, and can be kid friendly. (You can also make it with organic products.)

It was late at night and I was watching the Disney channel since it was left on. I saw this recipe info commercial. It had a Chef from Food Network mentoring a few Disney kid stars on how to make granola. I hadn't written it down but I was confident that I would find it on the Internet the next day. (No luck- it's a hard recipe to track down! Lizzie's Granola.) Instead I found similar recipes that caught my fancy plus with the visual demonstration from the Disney show I thought I could try.

Granola Expedition

2 1/2 cups of rolled oats

1/4 cup of olive oil (you can choose to use canola oil or whatever baking oil you have on hand)
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of corn syrup (or honey)

I also ground up a 1/2 cup of mixed nuts.

1 teaspoon of cherry extract (or vanilla)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Toss all the ingredients listed into a bowl to stir together.

Spoon into a large rectangular glass dished.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Stir.

Place back into oven for another 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Remove from oven.

2nd Part: Prepare while granola mixture is in the oven.

Here's what I add my twist.
I had this leftover nut trail mix. I just got tired of eating it but didnt want it to go to waste.
So I decided to pick out the banana chips. Ground them up just a little to make it smaller pieces.
I removed the chunks of dried fruit and also ground those into smaller pieces.
Finally added the whole nuts.

Once the granola mixture is removed from the oven. Toss together to start the sugars cooling. Do it slowly for more chunks.

Tips:

More sugar in a mixture, more easier to burn.

Do not add in the nuts or dried fruit. They will burn or harden.

Enjoy and Have Fun Cooking!

Cilantro Coleslaw

Adding a new twist to a traditional recipe: Coleslaw with an Asian twist.

I eyeballed my measurements based on how much salad dressing I want to make.

Dressing:

Mayo
Olive oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Sugar
Salt/Pepper
Cayenne
Lots of Cilantro chopped

(I'll try to develop measurements and repost later on with them.)

Slice up the cabbage into thin shreds
I also added carrots, cucumber, and sweet pepper for color!

One thing to note with coleslaw dressing as soon as the dressing and cabbage are mixed together the dressing will get a little runny and the cabbage will soften. So wait until the last minute to mix and serve.