Recipe: Honey Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Let's get one thing straight.

If anyone and I mean anyone (law enforcing individuals or otherwise) comes knocking at your door asking about the six storage units that I may or may not have rented under six different aliases...you know nothing.  

I know, I know...you have a thing for men in uniform and perjury isn't really your thing.

But seriously?  For the love of pumpkin, keep it in your pants, okay!?




Oh dear.  I've said too much.



Hmmm?  Ummm NO I absolutely did NOT steal abduct law abidingly purchase every single can of pumpkin in the tri-state area thus aiding and abetting Miss Irene in the pumpkin shortage of 2011.  And, well.  Maybe some from New England, too. 

Is it warm in here?  Can we maybe turn the A/C up?

And, uh. I'll be back in a minute.  I need to make a call.

To my, um.  Lawyer.



Maybe we can strike a deal.

You won't sell me out to any government officials.  And in exchange I'll provide you with a pumpkin and/or winter squash recipe every week for the next 12 weeks, so help me god.

Pinky swear?  With cream cheese frosting on top?



YES people, it's totally that time of year again!  For those of you who are new to my blog, every year while other bloggers are writing about their 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies...I write about MY 12 Weeks of Winter Squash!  Because everyone wants to turn orange come December 25th, right?

And to kick it off, we have these honey pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting.  Although, who are we fooling?  These are cupcakes parading around as muffins just so that we can eat them for breakfast without having to feel even a speckle of guilt.  Did I also mention that they are 100% whole wheat without even tasting like they have any whole wheat flour in them at all?  True story.

Don't believe me (not that I blame you after that little charade I pulled up there)...ask Cate, who was the lucky recipient of these "muffins".  I know...she totally calls them cupcakes in her post.  But she's not really into eating sweets for breakfasts so she has no need to lie to herself.

Honey Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 12, adapted from Whole Foods

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• cream cheese frosting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
3. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling 3/4 full.  Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack, then remove from pan to set aside and cool completely.
4. When cool, top with cream cheese frosting.

I am submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted by Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen.

Recipe: Nutty Sweet Potato Soup with Harissa and Spinach

Sometimes I wonder about my moral integrity.

You see, right now I'm pretty mad at Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy aka Derek Shepherd) for the way he's treating Meredith.

True, she has a totally annoying whiny voice and a totally obnoxious way of being introspective at the most inopportune times and her hair really isn't even all that great all the time.  But are you really going to let a clinical trial that probably wasn't going to make it past Phase I anyway stand in the way of true love?

(Derek - get with the program!) 



Anyways, I went to bed last night being all "GIRL POWER" and "CHICKS BEFORE D*CKS".  (Us women in medicine need to stick together, after all.)

And woke up to the horrific realization that my subconscious (without consulting me first, mind you) had gone and thrown all of these very virtuous mantras to the wind in lieu of an REM-induced make out session with Mr. Dempsey himself.

(It.Was.Awesome.)



I was shocked and appalled.

And needed something seriously wholesome to make up for all of the lascivious tendencies that apparently lie beneath any sense of decency I might have thought I had. 

Enter this soup.  Given that it is filled with all that is good in this world (i.e. sweet potatoes and peanut butter and a hint of spice), it's pretty ideal for righting any and all wrongs you may or may not have committed while you slept.

And it'll probably do wonders for that sore throat that you woke up with.

Yeah, Patrick totally passed on some of his hospital germs to you in that little imaginary tryst you had.  Karma's a bitch, isn't it?



Nutty Sweet Potato Soup with Harissa and Spinach
Serves 4, adapted from Vegetarian Times October 2011

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp harissa paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 5 oz baby spinach leaves

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add leeks and saute 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste, peanut butter, harissa, garlic, turmeric and cumin.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add sweet potatoes, broth and 1 1/2 cups water.  Simmer over medium-low heat, partially covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
2. Blend mixture with immersion blender, adding more water if soup is too thick.  Bring soup back to a simmer and stir in spinach leaves.

I am submitting this to Souper Sunday hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen!

Recipe: Pasta with Oven Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Mint

This pasta with oven roasted eggplant, zucchini, goat cheese and mint is so good it will have everyone, even the twenty-something year old men in your life, eating it out of the pot.  For the recipe, check out my post over at Marcus Samuelsson's blog!  Also, feel free to check out my giveaway!

Recipe: Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Ragout...and a Giveaway!

Guys, let's discuss real life.

(a) Walking into the cookbook section of your local bookstore when you're hungry is really a non-ideal situation for your credit card and your bookshelves.

...and the space beneath your pillow because, well...no one has turned your heat on yet and you need something to cuddle up with at night.

(b) Cookbooks do not make good cuddle buddies. 



(c) You know who would make a good cuddle buddy?  Derek aka McDreamy aka the man who is going to step out of my computer screen and propose to me on the spot someday, so help me god.  He and Meredith are on the outs right now and I kinda think it's time to make my move.  Thoughts?  Tips?  Moral/psychiatric support?



(d) Monochromatic orangey red mush looks really bad on film but tastes really good in person.  It's sweet and spicy and totally might even deserve some precious real estate underneath my pillow.

(Umm for midnight snack purposes...obviously.)

(That's not to say I didn't try cuddling with it but....let's just say it's much better for eating than spooning.  Mmkay?)

PS - See below the recipe for the giveaway!



Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Ragout
Serves 4, adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3/4 tsp ancho chile powder
• 3/4 tsp chipotle chile powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 5 cups veggie broth

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450.  Lay the carrots on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.  Season with 1 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes.
2. Turn the carrots, add the onion slices, and roast for 15 minutes or until the carrots are brown and tender.  Remove from the oven.
3. When the carrots are cool enough, cut them into 1/4-inch dice.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan.  Add the carrots and onions, chile powders and cayenne pepper.  Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Stir in the lentils, add the broth, and bring to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until the lentils are falling apart.  Season with remaining 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste.

I am submitting this to Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory!

GIVEAWAY
I was sent a LARGE container of Jasmati RiceSelects rice to review by Mambo Sprouts and though I am totally barely a rice eater by any stretch of the imagination...I loved it.  It tastes just like the jasmine rice you can get at your favorite Thai restaurant or the basmati rice you can get at your favorite Indian restaurant...except you can make it at home.  I also really love that RiceSelect supports sustainable agriculture by developing high yielding rice varieties that require less pesticides, fungicides and water resources as well as organic foods by developing new organic products, securing markets and expanding consumer demand. AND that RiceSelect’s production facilities operate pollution free and use only minimal processes to mill and package nutritious, high quality, all natural food products.  To top it all off, from now until the end of November, all of the Texmati rice jars will sport pink lids in support of the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation, and RiceSelects will donate $50,000 to support the foundation's work to cure breast cancer.


What does this have to do with you?  Well, RiceSelects has offered to send a cute tote bag with a package of this rice to one of YOU!  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite grain/starchy side dish is.  Basmati rice, brown rice, quinoa, wheat berries, etc.  I'll choose a winner on Wednesday!


Disclaimer: Though I received this product for free, my thoughts and opinions are my own. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Recipe: Maida Heatter's Johnny Appleseed Bars...and a Review of Thrive Foods!

I never thought I would say this, but after spending a weekend "in the country" with Cate and her kids...I almost didn't want to leave New Jersey.  I seriously considered pretending to get on the train but actually stowing myself into the back of her SUV when I went to get my bag out of the trunk.

Personally, I think I would have been a fun surprise to wake up to on Monday morning.  A little creepy...but in a fun way.  I swear it.



Instead, I had to settle for taking a little bit of New Jersey back to NYC with me.

Tragically, Cate wouldn't let me kidnap her children, beg as though I might. (See above.  Adorable.  They made my ovaries ache. Inconsolably.)

...so...I had to make do with apples.



Apples are kind of like children, right?  Except...they don't scream when you won't let them have brownies for breakfast.  Or ask you 500 questions in rapid succession while you're trying to parallel park your car.

Or...hold your hand in the most adorable possible way while crossing the street (and...there go those ovaries again.  Ouch.)



And they can be cut as thinly as possible and then sandwiched in-between two layers of cinnamony delicious oatmeal cake.  So that...you kinda sorta get apple pie and cake in every bite.  And you can kinda sorta eat it for breakfast because, well...oatmeal + apples = breakfast food.

Duh.

(Bet you can't do that with your children.)

Also...the faster you eat those apples, the faster you'll have an excuse to head back up to NJ for some more "apple picking"/torture-your-biological-clock time.

Win/win situation.



Maida Heatter is this week's Gourmet Live Women Game Changers in Food icon.  And let me tell you, I had a hard time choosing which recipe of hers to make. 

Having pounds upon pounds of apples on my table kind of sealed the deal though.  I brought these into lab meeting on Wednesday and they were a HUGE hit.  If you make any apple dessert this fall, I highly recommend that this is it.

For more Maida Heatter recipes, check out these blogs:
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Nancy - Picadillo 



Johnny Appleseed Bars
Makes 1 9x13-inch baking pan, adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts

Ingredients

• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• scant 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 cups quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 to 5 firm cooking apples

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, making sure the edges extend over the edges of the pan for easy removal.  Place prepared pan in the freezer.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir in the oats and sugar.  In a separate small bowl, stir together the melted butter, eggs and vanilla.  Mix liquid mixture into the oat mixture.
3. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan.  Set aside.
4. Place the remaining dough between two 15-inch lengths of wax paper.  Roll out into a 9x13-inch rectangle.  Slide a flat cookie sheet under the dough and wax paper and transfer it to the freezer for a few minutes.
5. Peel, quarter and core the apples.  Cut each quarter lengthwise into five or six slices.  Place the apple slices in rows, each slice slightly overlapping the last, on top of the bottom layer of dough.
6. Remove the rolled-out rectangle from the freezer.  Peel off the top piece of paper and turn the dough over the apples.  Remove the remaining paper and press down on the edges of the dough to seal it.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan.  Lift cake out using the edges of the foil and cut into squares or bars.  Maida says that chilling makes the bars easier to cut and also that they freeze well!

I am submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted this week by Astrid from Paulchen's Foodblog.

---

Review of Brendan Brazier's Thrive Foods

Back in August, I was sent a copy of Brendan Brazier's Thrive foods to review (which you can order on Amazon!)  Brendan is a professional Ironman triathlete who began to seriously analyze exactly what he was putting into his body when he realized just how much it was affecting his health and performance.  Essentially, he realized that the key to increasing his training capacity was not to train more, but to eat so that his body had the nutrients it needed to recover faster.  As a means of doing this, he created a nutrient-to-resource ratio to use a means of determining which foods are most nutrient dense while using the least natural resource expenditure in the food production process, and then basing his diet around those with the highest ratios.  Of course, such foods are typically plant based and things that we consider to be healthy - nuts, legumes, vegetables, fruits.  

Being an endurance athlete myself, I think a lot about what I put into my body and how it will effect my performance.  I know that when I eat more sugar or more dessert, I feel sluggish and my muscles hurt more and are more prone to injury, yet when I fuel myself with nutrient-dense food I have more energy and my body just feels better.  While I am not willing to completely give up on things like pasta or or treats like these apple bars like Brendan is, I think there is definitely something to the message that he putting out there and that the recipes and ideas he puts forth in his book are worth incorporating into my life.  

For more information about this and to receive a free PDF with info about Brendan's book and three free recipes, check out his facebook page!  Also, thanks so much to Vega for sending me the book to review.  For more information about Vega products, check out their facebook page and follow them on twitter here!

Disclaimer: though I was sent this book for free, my thoughts and opinions on it are my own and I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Recipe: Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce

In general, I try not to make completely non-evidence based medical promises about the food that I try to shove down your throat every day.

(At least not on the blog.  If you meet me in real life...I will probably tell you sixty times over that eating McDonald's will give you herpes.  Somehow that scares people more than the threat of heart disease.  Weird.)



But this pasta with its creamy delicious lemony basil-y summer-in-your-mouth avocado sauce?

It will totally give you superpowers.



How else can you explain how I managed to run twenty miles on Saturday without hitting a single bite me zone? 

And still had enough energy to hop a train to New Jersey and play with the most adorable three and nine-year olds on the face of this earth?




Well, if no one has any better suggestions...I'm going to dust off my cape and hot pink leggings.

Cause I feel another batch of this coming on. 

...and if one bowl can give me that much running prowess.  We should all brace ourselves for what that second bowl is going to do. 



Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce
Serves 2, adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized, ripe avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced plus lemon zest to garnish
• 3 cloves garlic, to taste
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, with more added to taste
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 6 oz bucatini
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring several cups of salted water to a boil in medium pot.  Add in pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. Make the sauce by placing garlic cloves and lemon juice into a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Add in the avocado, basil, and salt.  Process until smooth and creamy.
3. Pour sauce over pasta, adding a bit of pasta water if necessary to make it looser.  Taste for salt.  Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by Tandy of Lavender and Lime.

Roasted Winter Squash, Apple and Spelt Berry Soup

If you have cold air seeping through your windows and a housing office that refuses to turn on your heat like I do, then this roasted winter squash, apple and spelt berry soup is exactly what you need to stay warm.  Check out the recipe over at Marcus Samuelsson's blog!

Recipe: Corn Quiche in a Teff Crust

My mom told me a lot of not-so-true things while I was growing up.

When I was twelve she informed me that if I shaved my legs above my knees, the hair would grow back thicker and that my life would probably come to an end.

She persists in shrieking like a hyena every time she notices my hairless upper thighs. I've just started only wearing jeans around her.  For the sake of my eardrums.



When I was twenty four and a half she told me that chicken was a vegetable.

No comment.



And for my entire life she has tried to convince me that if I ate raw corn, I would get an incurable stomachache and would probably not live to see another 24 hours.

This summer I broke free from these cooked-corn-shackles when I realized that raw sweet corn was kind of the best thing that had ever happened to me and decided that from here on out, if an ear of corn isn't sweet enough to be eaten raw then it's not allowed to take up any precious real estate in my fridge.

The only way to test for raw sweetness is to take a big old bite out of each ear you think you might purchase while standing in front of the corn display in the supermarket.  And throw the ones back that are just not up to par.

It may not be exactly hygienic.  But damn is it ever effective.



This quiche is the only way I've actually ingested cooked corn all summer, but I still made sure the ears I used passed the raw sweet test before they crossed the threshold into my apartment.    As a result, the filling is addictively sweet and perfectly complimented by the tabasco that is mixed in to both the pie crust and the filling.  I should also note that the crust is made from a mix of teff flour (most commonly used in Ethiopian injera) and whole wheat pastry flour.  As a result, it is not as buttery and flaky as a traditional quiche or pie crust but is a bit darker and nuttier.  I was on the fence about it when I nibbled on the overhang pieces as I lined the pie plate, but next to the fluffy sweet filling of the quiche it really is quite delicious.

(Just, um.  If anyone asks...I didn't tell you about that raw sweet corn test thing.  Especially not if "anyone" is your mother.  Deal?)



Corn Quiche in a Tef Crust
Serves 5-6, adapted from 101 Cookbooks 


Ingredients

• 1 cup teff flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 1/4 cup cold water
• tabasco sauce, to taste
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup almond milk (or regular milk or soy milk)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup shredded fontina
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, minced
• cherry tomatoes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Put the tef, whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.  Cut the butter into chunks.  Add it to the flour mixture and pulse to form a crumbly meal.  Season water with tabasco and pulse into flour mixture to make a pliable dough.  With your hands, form dough into a flat disk.  Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes, but no more. Roll out between 2 sheets of wax paper to an 11-inch circle.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with it.
2. Combine the corn and milk in a blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.  Add the eggs, more tabasco and more salt and blend just to mix.
3. Sprinkle all but 2 tbsp cheese on the pie crust.  Pour in the corn mixture.  Sprinkle scallions, green bell peppers, and remaining cheese over surface.  Cut tomatoes into thin slices and arrange on top of pie as desired.  Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

I am submitting this to Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory!

Recipe: Honey Curry Bread and Warm and Spicy Cashew Tomato Soup

Here's the thing.

On Wednesday, I was kidnapped.  Yes, it's true.  Right in the middle of class, someone swooped in and transported me off to this alternate universe called "Fourier space". 

It was the land where everything I apparently did not learn in my college differential equations class went to die.




There were all sorts of weird symbols and these strange functions called "transforms".

And, just to give you an idea, it's the type of place where "it is convenient to write things as complex (i.e. imaginary) numbers". 

(!!!!!!)

Yeah, that's totally a direct quote.  I'm not quite sure what to make of it either.  Though, from what I can tell, the idea is that when you're looking at something through a microscope, there are all of these weird "transformations" that happen in this "imaginary number space" and that's how you end up seeing the image that you see.

All this time I thought I was doing science.  When really.  It was sorcery.



Thankfully, I escaped from this awful, awful place.

And upon returning home, I craved simplicity. 

I craved second grade and learning how to write in cursive and thinking that long division was super ridiculously hard.  (Actually...it still is.  But as an adult, you get to use a calculator.)

I craved grilled cheese and tomato soup. 

Because really, what could be more simple?  Or delicious?



This is not your average elementary school Wonder bread/American cheese sandwich with a can of Campbell's, however.  No siree.

This is grilled cheese and tomato soup for those of us who have extra time now that we have calculators to do all the dirty work for us and don't have to worry about carrying numbers or where the decimal point goes.

Honey curry bread grilled cheddar cheese with a warm and spicy cashew tomato soup.  A.Ma.Zing.

The bread is sweet with a hint of spice from the curry powder - the perfect compliment to a super sharp cheddar.  And the soup?  A revelation.  Also filled with curry-esque spices it is so richly flavorful that you'll really have to stop yourself from drinking it out of the pot.  But really, it's so good for you - why bother? 

The perfect comfort food after any traumatic graduate school class you may have experienced.  Or just because.  Does comfort ever really need a reason?

--

This week, those of us cooking through the Gourmet Live list of Women Game-Changers in Food are featuring the recipes of Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso - the authors of the Silver Palate cookbooks and the owners of the eponymous gourmet emporium that used to reside on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

To see more of their recipes, check out these blogs:

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof   

Honey Curry Bread
Makes 1 loaf, adapted from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp yeast or 1 1/2 packages
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour

Instructions

1. Mix the water and yeast in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of sugar and stir to mix.  Let sit for about five minutes or until it becomes foamy.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the curry powder.  Cook over low heat for 1 minute.  Stir in the honey and remove from heat.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the butter mixture, yeast, buttermilk, salt, and 3 cups flour.  If using a mixer, use the hook attachment to combine, adding enough flour to form a soft dough.  It should be enough so that after a minute or so of mixing, the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.
4. Mix for 5 minutes on high speed to knead, or until smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl.  Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.  Punch the dough down.  Shape into a standard loaf and place in a loaf tin.  Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when lightly thumped, about 40-45 minutes.  Cool on wire rack to room temperature.

Warm and Spicy Cashew and Tomato Soup
Serves 4, adapted from Daily Unadventures in Cooking

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb tomatoes (I used 1 lb kumato and 1/2 lb plum)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt, as necessary
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp roughly chopped ginger
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 cup salted cashews
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1" piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom pod, bruised
• 4 cups water
• 1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300.  Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, gently tossing with 1 tsp of the oil.  Sprinkle with salt.  Lay the tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil, cut side up.  Bake for an hour (or longer if you have the time).
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot, brown the onion in the remaining oil until it is a nice, even golden brown.  Cook on medium and stir often.  Once browned, add the garlic, ginger, garam masala, coriander, chili powder, cashews, and tomato paste.  Cook for a few minutes until nice and fragrant, stirring often.
3. Add cinnamon, cardamom pod, and water, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot and get up any browned bits.
4. When the tomatoes are finished roasting, add them to the soup and stir.  Simmer gently for 30 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pod (if you can find it...I just left mine in).  Using an immersion blender, blend thoroughly.
5. In a small bowl, slowly whisk a few tbsp of soup into the yogurt.  This will help to thin it and allow it to emulsify better into the soup.  When thinned out, stir back into the soup over low heat.  Season to taste with salt.  Serve hot. Preferably with grilled cheese.

I am submitting this to Souper Sunday which is hosted by Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen. It has also been yeastspotted!

Recipe: Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie

Thanks to Walgreens for sponsoring my writing. Help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote.


 
My tactics for getting my family to be healthier probably wouldn't be approved by child protective services.

(It's a good thing I'm the child and they're the parents otherwise...we'd have some problems.)

Usually they involve me stampeding into the kitchen when I return home for a visit, throwing out everything that contains high fructose corn syrup (i.e. everything), screeching about type II diabetes for an hour, and then force-feeding vegetables and whole grains down everyone's throat.  Sometimes, I even refuse to set foot in the car and insist that we all walk to the grocery store to buy ingredients for dinner.

Good times.

And no, I have no idea why they keep inviting me back either.



Fall and winter are fast approaching, with their tendencies to force us all to spiral into hibernation mode, and so it's especially important to incorporate healthy habits now, while the weather is still inviting and the produce is still ripe for the picking, in the hopes that they'll carry over into the less conducive seasons that are to come.

If you're not as into the yelling/screaming/boot-camp/tough love/brute force method of kicking your family's healthy habits into gear as I am, then here are some health and wellness tips that are a bit less abrasive but equally (if not more) effective!

Meatless Mondays or, if you live in my apartment - meatless every day!  Before I decided to become a vegetarian, I'm pretty sure my parents had never had a meatless meal in their lives.  I'm also pretty sure that, even though I have gone without eating meat for about seven months, they are still completely confused as to what I eat on a daily basis.  Going meatless even just one day a week (or whenever your daughter happens to visit you) will help you expand your culinary horizons and incorporate more vegetables into your diet, especially in the middle of winter when heavy stews and baked cheesy creamy dishes are the norm.  Some of the perks of eating more veggies are that you'll be less likely to get sick (I get sick maybe once a year) and you'll have more energy.

Move more, sit less.  While I recognize that most people are not psychotic individuals who have actually learned to love running outside in really cold weather, there are certainly still ways to get your heart rate up and your sweat glands working even in the dead of winter.  Little things like taking the stairs, walking to the store instead of driving, doing squats while you blow dry your hair, finding an exercise video that you like, and shoveling snow really do make a difference!

Eat home-cooked meals.  Together.  A home-cooked meal is ALWAYS healthier than take-out or something you can heat up in a microwave.  Even if it's mac and cheese.  And especially if you sit down together and eat it as a family.  My family always ate dinner together when I was growing up and even if it wasn't always the healthiest fare, there's something about the act of sitting and talking about your day that is just so good for you.



Which brings me to why I'm talking about wellness and shoving a peanut butter pie in your face (arguably not the healthiest thing in the world).

I always bring dessert when I go home to visit my parents.

We sit.  We eat (usually something super veggie-full that everyone complains about but devours nonetheless).  We talk.  We catch up.  We fight.  We laugh.  We try not to throw things at each other.

And then we eat pie.

Because in the end, true wellness is all about balance.  And balance definitely includes pie.

My friend Megan posted about this pie today and she actually got pics of it's insides, so definitely go and check out her post! And wish her a happy birthday when you do!



Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie
Makes 1 9-inch pie, adapted from Bon Appetit August 2011

Ingredients

• 9 graham crackers, coarsely crushed
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 6 tbsp butter, melted
• 8 large egg yolks
• 12 tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk (or whole milk)
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 oz bittersweet chocoalte (I used 70% Callebaut)
• 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Honeycomb (recipe below)

Instructions

1. For the crust, preheat the oven to 325.  Finely grind graham crackers, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg in a food processor.  Transfer crumb mixture to a medium bowl.  Add melted butter and stir to blend.  use bottom and sides of a measuring cup to pack crumbs onto bottom and up sides of 9" glass or metal pie pan (or if your mother is holding your pie pan hostage...you can totally use a cake pan).  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Let cool.
2. For the filling, mix yolks and 6 tbsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Beat at high speed until ribbons form, stopping once to scrape down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes.
3. Combine milk and remaining 6 tbsp sugar in a large saucepan.  Scrape in vanilla bean paste or seeds from vanilla bean and add.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  With mixer running, gradually add hot milk mixture to yolk mixture.  Scrape mixture back into pan.  Clean bowl.  Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.  Remove pan from heat.  Whisk vigorously for 1 minute.  Return custard to mixing bowl.  Beat on high speed until cool, about 4 minutes.  Mix in softened butter one tbsp at a time.  Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt.  Beat to blend.  Scrape filling into cooled crust and smooth the top.  Chill until set, 2-3 hours.
4. Stir chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.  Drizzle some of the chocolate glaze over the peanut butter filling, making a circle in the middle of the pie and leaving a 1-2 inch plain border.  Pile pieces of honeycomb on top.  Drizzle remaining chocolate glaze over.

Honeycomb
Serves 8, adapted from Bon Appetit August 2011


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp baking soda, sifted

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.  Combine sugar, corn syrup, honey, and 1/4 cup water in a heavy deep saucepan.  Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to high.  Bring to a boil.  Cook without stirring, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until sugar turns pale amber.  Working quickly, add baking soda (mixture will foam up dramatically).  Whisk quickly just to combine.  Immediately pour candy over prepared sheet (do not spread out).  Let stand undisturbed until cool, about 20 minutes.  Hit candy in several places with the handle of a knife to crack it.

I am submitting this to Bake with Bizzy!

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Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

You know what's worse than having your mother try to serve you a fruit salad full of unripe chalky mango for dessert?  Not making this soba noodle with eggplant and mango salad.  Check out Marcus Samuelsson's blog for the recipe!