Pumpkin Panic!

Let me just tell you - I am a big fan of pumpkin.  Huge fan.  Ginormous fan.  I love it.  I like it in bread, muffins, ebelskivers, soups, salads, oh and of course pie!  You get the point.  So basically I've been hunting this gourd down like a  coonhound since the end of September.  Problem is I haven't had much luck.  I looked for it in cans and straight from the vine - I even looked for it online!  (I hope you like it when I rhyme) Anyways I stumbled across some information on my online hunt that told me we are having a pumpkin crisis. Yes, CRISIS.  If you don't believe me read this... Pumpkin Farms Face Horrible Harvest

Enter panic mode.  Where in the H E double hockey sticks was I going to find this stuff?

Well, I was on my lunch break yesterday and I went to Planet Organic for lunch.  Which is basically awesome in so many ways.  One of them being they are the best  place for a healthy vegetarian lunch but also a great place to pick up organic grocercies.  Luckily yesterday the lunch line was SO long it went all the way into the grocery store part of the shop - and lo and behold I am standing next to a pumpkin display!  SCORE!

So here is my first pumpkin recipe of the season.  Hope you enjoy.

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

First I had to make my own pumpkin puree.  So slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.

Place the halves on a baking sheet in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 celsius for an hour.  Until they look like this...

Scrape out the flesh and put it in a blender and puree it.

Now you can use this instead of canned pumpkin.

For the pumpkin muffin recipes I used this recipe but I substituted canned pumpkin for my fresh stuff, buttermilk for soy, and I left out nuts and raisins just because I didn't have them.

I baked these in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius for 16 minutes.

And this is what came out...

These muffins are really fantastic.  They taste like fall, they have nice pumpkin flavor, and are super moist and delicious!  Yum.  Hooray for pumpkin!

Home Alone and Eating Soup

Basically this is how I feel right now.  Nick has flown to Africa and left me to fend for myself.  I've never actually been home alone for longer than a few nights.  I've either been with my parents, who then passed me along to various roommates, who passed me to Nick.  Obviously me and Macaulay Caulkin have a lot in common, the least of which is setting lots of booby traps, referring to everyone as "filthy animals" and making gun noises when I hear people walk past the house.

Luckily, unlike Macaulay's lame excuse for a mother, Nick found me a babysitter.  Yep.  He actually got his company to get me to come in and do work.  So I am working.  Yes, you heard right, Kelly is working.  Shocking I know.  So I've been doing data entry all day.  wooo hooo.

"So what'd ya have for dinner last night?"  is probably the all important unanswered question.

Cauliflower Soup!

One head of cauliflower

                           

Cut it up into chunks.

Then throw them in a pot and add just enough water to cover them.  Also add a veggie stock cube, salt and pepper, and generally any other spices you feel like.

                                  

When they're tender use an immersion blender and blend it to a smooth consistency.  You can also use a regular blender but this is much messier.

                                  

How easy was that?  Its a nice creamy soup perfect for fall weather.  And hey all thats in there is pretty much cauliflower and water.  So go ahead and throw a handful of cheese on top and indulge, you filthy animal.

The Green Monster

Nick and I are on a bit of a health kick lately.  He's been pretty stressed about his trip to Tunisia, Algeria, and Morroco so he's been feeling a bit rundown.  Therefore, being the supportive wife I am I came up with a lets get healthy plan.  This plan included a trip to Holland & Barret's, which is a really great health store in England.  They sell lots of vitamins you've probably never heard of but upon entering the shop you'll feel like you most certainly need to be taking.

We walked out of the store with urban wheatgrass which is supposed to detox and energize, and ground flaxseed, which is full of omega 3,6, and 9 which is good for the brain and can be difficult to come by in a vegetarian diet.  We also got lots of pills, naturally.

Then I found this website, Green Monster Movement, which has tons of recipes for this so called "Green Monster" basically a miracle smoothie containing spinach which will make you energetic, your hair grow, and your skin look fabulous. Sounded promising.

So this morning we made our first green monsters.  We used the "Virgin Green Monster" recipe for our first time - it seemed appropriate.

Here's what we did:

We put 4 cups of spinach into a blender.

Then we added two packets of urban wheat grass and two tablespoons ground flaxseed.

Then 2 bananas.

Then about a cup and a half of milk, and we hit GO!... Then Nick tried to pour it into glasses...

Clearly, that went well.

And here was our final result.  Honestly, not bad at all.  Definitely won't satisfy your smoothie king fix, but probably way healthier.  Now I just can't decide whether to declare myself a mean green fighting machine ala teenage mutant ninja turtles, or just a dirty hippy.  Let me know what you think.

Brussels Sprouts - Like You've Never Had Them Before

So I found this recipe for Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad on epicurious.com.  I actually really like Brussels sprouts. No thats not a lie.  I swear.  But I've never had them shaved so I thought I'd give this a go.  Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1lb Brussels sprouts
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 table spoons percorino romano (or parmesan)
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 table spoons lemon juice

I used a food processor to shred these babies up quick.

Meanwhile, put your nuts in the oven for a few minutes and toast 'em up.

Then mix your Brussels sprouts, nuts, cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice all together in a big bowl.

Then you have yourself a shaved Brussels sprout salad.

Now I guess you want to know what this tastes like.  Well, it doesn't taste bad at all, but it doesn't really taste good either.  It was basically just really boring to eat.  I don't get bored eating very often, but my mouth really got tired of chewing.  It was a chewing marathon - and I gave up.  Nick wasn't happy at all, he kept asking me why I was making him eat rabbit food.  I promised him I was making him a dessert, which I was, but the brussel sprouts took so long to chew that I ended up burning it.

On a positive note, it HAD to be healthy.

Apple, Leek, and Goat Cheese Crepes

Grandma Adrian is well known for her applesauce crepe recipes, known to her grandchildren as something that can only be pronounced as "fawn-ah-coug-an".  Note : I have absolutely no idea how to spell this so if anyone wants to inform me that would be great - I am pretty sure its german.  This recipe is loosely based off her recipe, as well as one of my favorite appetizers from my mom and aunt's catering company, La Petite Pierre, Apple Leek and Brie tarts.

To make Filling:

• 5 apples
• 1 leek
• 5 sage leaves
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Instructions:

Peel apples and slice them nice and thin.

 

Add the butter to a pan over medium high heat and add the apples.

While these are cooking slice the leek and add this to the pan with the sage.  Cook everything until its nice and tender, and don't forget to season with salt and pepper!

 

You can set this aside while you make your crepes.

To make crepes:

• 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat works pretty well if you want to be healthy)
• 3/4 cup milk (you can use soy)
• 1 egg

Whisk all these together and you have your crepe dough.  

Heat your pan over medium low heat.  Make sure you spray some pam so the crepe won't stick, and then ladle a spoonful of the dough into the pan.  There should be just a thin layer covering the bottom... like this.

When its ready just flip and put filling in and add goats cheese.

Wrap it up in a tight little package. 

This recipe makes about 5 crepes depending on how big your pan is.  If you have a sweet tooth you can always fill them with Nutella instead.  Yum!