Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf

I came across this recipe when searching for fall seasonal recipes, and found this one here. It's vegan, which is awesome, has pumpkin, with Tessa loves, and chocolate, which I love. I might like to try it sometime with walnuts in addition to the chocolate chips.

I did make a few minor changes. I made it with whole wheat flour, and instead of measuring out each one of the four spices (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove), I just used 1 1/8 teaspoons of pumpkin spice mix. I also used a 9" loaf pan, so I adjusted the bake time and it worked flawlessly. I have not tested the 8" loaf pan bake time. 

1/4 cup organic applesauce
2 tablespoons canola or coconut oil
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons boiling water, divided (see note)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch loaf pan. Set some water on to boil, but don't measure yet.
2. Put the applesauce, oil, and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
3. Measure out 1/3 cup from the boiling water and pour it into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce. Add the pumpkin, sugar, and vanilla and mix well.
4. Dump about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir again. Then, add the remaining flour mixture and another tablespoon of boiling water and stir just until smooth. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It will be good and thick. Smooth the top out with a spatula.
6. If you're using an 8-inch loaf pan, bake for 55 minutes to an hour. For a 9-inch loaf pan, bake for 45-50 minutes. Stick a steak knife into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. A little bit of wetness is okay since it could be from a chocolate chip, but the knife should come out mostly dry.
7. Allow the loaf to cool for 10 minutes, then invert pan and place loaf on a cooling rack to cool most of the way.

8. Slice and serve a little bit warm, or thoroughly cooled.

Makes about 10 servings.

I can haz two slices?

Vegetarian Bubble and Squeak

Bubble and squeak is traditionally made from leftovers and served as part of an English breakfast. We first encountered a vegetarian version of it at Jonathon's in Dallas. Tessa was craving it this week, so I dug around and found this recipe.

The result is my version of vegetarian bubble and squeak, made fresh instead of from leftovers, but it will be even easier to make when I have extra mashed potatoes. I'm calling this a "healthy alternative," because traditional bubble and squeak is fried in lard, and because I swapped out the veggies, using dandelion greens instead of cabbage, because they are incredibly nutritious. I also subbed in leek for onion, because they add a certain creaminess I'm completely addicted to.

The whole thing, in fact, was creamy and filling, even after I replaced some of the butter with extra virgin olive oil for a heart-healthier dish. If you do want to make it more of the traditional breakfast, or just want to add a protein, try serving with a fresh egg or (if you're a meat-eater) a piece of spicy turkey sausage.

6 fist-sized Yukon Gold potatoes
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
1 medium clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bunch of dandelion greens, chopped
4 tbsp butter, divided (I substituted 1 tbsp with extra virgin olive oil)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 cup milk

1. Boil and mash the potatoes with the milk and half of the butter, then season with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, plus a touch of ground nutmeg.
2. Melt the rest of the butter in a wide and deep frying pan over a low heat and saute the leeks until they are soft but not brown.

3. Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional minute. Then mix in the chopped greens, and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the mashed potatoes and mix everything together. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
5. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

Serves three to four.

Bubbles! Bubbles! My bubbles!

Vegetable and Three Cheese Stuffed Shells

Tessa is getting really good at finding recipes she wants me to make for dinner. (Original recipe here.) This one I thought might have a similar taste profile to my favorite lasagna recipe. However, it has its own unique flavor. I served it with a mixed green salad dressed with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette, feta crumbles, and chopped walnuts.

It's also chock full of veggies (and cheesy goodness), which I like, and was pretty quick to make (30 minutes start to finish). My only regret is that I couldn't find whole wheat jumbo shells, so I had to settle for regular ones.

16 jumbo shells (from a 12-oz box, and whole wheat, if you can find them)
2 cups marinara sauce
2 handfuls of fresh, organic spinach
2 cups organic broccoli florets
1 15-oz container of part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1/4 tsp garlic powder
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and leave in a colander to cool. Do not rinse.
3. Spread the sauce onto the bottom of a large broiler-proof baking dish.
4. Finely chop the spinach and broccoli and place in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta, Parmesan, 1/2 of the mozzarella, the garlic powder, and about 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.
5. Spoon the mixture into the shells (about 1/4 cup each) and place on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes. 

6. Increase heat to broil. Broil the shells until the cheese begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serves four to five.

Wait. You... eat...?

Easy Homemade Cheese Crackers

Tessa directed me to this excellent "real" food blog recently, and the recipe that intrigued me most was one for homemade cheese crackers. I get hungry very frequently, so I snack a lot. Nine times out of ten, I'm a salty snack craver, so I rummage for chips and salsa, hummus, nuts, etc., and this seemed like a much less processed way to get my cheesy-salty-crunchy fix.

They actually came out looking a little like butter cookies, but they tasted exactly like Cheese Nips. It's amazing. And they only have three ingredients. For my cheese, I used Seaside English Cheddar, and the crackers are delightful.

I'm reproducing the Leake family's recipe below, with a couple quick notes, because it was so fantastic and conscientious already that there wasn't much I wanted to change. There is a large amount of butter in them; however, they're the kind of snack you can eat four or five of and feel sated, so I don't see it as a problem, at least not for us. (To give you some perspective, a box of organic cheese crackers lasts about three days in our house. The single batch of crackers I made have been around for three full days already, and half of them are still sitting in an airtight tupperware container.)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

5 tbsp cold butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks

4 oz. of cheddar cheese, hand shredded or finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all three ingredients in a food processor and blend. The mixture will eventually turn into one big ball chasing itself around the bowl.* Be patient because it can take a few minutes.
3. Roll the ball into a log about 1 ½” in diameter. At this point you could refrigerate the dough until later.
4. With a sharp knife or waxed dental floss slice ¼” thick pieces off the log and place each one flat on an ungreased baking sheet. Try to rotate which side you are cutting down on because the top of the log does start to flatten a little. It is like your very own homemade slice and bake!
5. If you want your crackers to look a little fancy take a fork and gently mash down the top of each one before baking.
6. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes** or until golden brown.

*I have a three cup food processor, so my mixture did not become a ball or chase itself, because it wasn't physically possible. I just watched until the ingredients seemed to be uniformly mixed, then I scooped it all out onto my cutting board and rolled it into a log.

**I ended up baking mine for 20, even though my oven usually runs hot, to achieve a more cracker-like crunch on the bottom. They were not burned.

Serves six (4 crackers each).

Om nom nom

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie (of the ground beef/potato/cheese variety) was a staple dinner in my family growing up. Apparently when I was in pre-school, the chef there made it and I fell in love so deeply that my mom acquired the recipe from my school.

Since I have been recently cutting red meat and pork out of my diet, and have not cooked with them since I began cooking for Tessa, I've been looking for a tasty alternative using some sort of poultry. I found it.

This recipe originated from an allrecipes.com post, but I overhauled it significantly, and it was a satisfying, delicious dinner. I used ground turkey because is significantly more heart-healthy than ground beef (though ground or shredded chicken would also work well), made a gravy for the turkey that closely resembles my pot pie filling, adjusted the spices and veggies to suit me, and poof! Deliciousness.

On a dish-y note, I boiled the potatoes, browned the meat, and made the gravy all in the same 3-quart sauce pan because I don't like dish duty. For those who eat with their eyes, yes, it is a little monotone, but trust me, the flavors are dynamic.

7-8 fist-sized Yukon Gold potatoes
6 tbsp butter, divided
1 cup milk, divided
1 medium head garlic

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 pound ground turkey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 tbsp fresh, chopped)
1/2 tsp rosemary (1 tbsp fresh, chopped)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
1 cup Cheddar cheese, hand shredded

1. Cut the head of garlic in half and drizzle it with olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees (you may want to save this for later).
3. Chop the potatoes into 1 inch chunks and boil them until tender. Drain, then mash potatoes. Add 4 tbsp of the butter, 2/3 cup of the milk, roasted garlic, salt, and pepper, and mix in. Set aside.
4. Brown the turkey in a little olive oil, and set aside. 

5. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and add the leek and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 2 minutes, then whisk in the flour. Remove from heat and add remaining 1/3 cup milk and the chicken stock or broth. Return to heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches the boiling point. Remove from heat and add the turkey, rosemary, and thyme. 

6. Pour the turkey mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish, distributing evenly. Spread the mashed potatoes on top, then sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until sauce begins to bubble up around the edges.

Serves six.

I herded this sheep for you. 

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This recipe was inspired by one of Tessa's favorite dishes from the Dream Cafe in Dallas, unfortunately no longer on their menu because they changed chefs. The other day, Tessa asked me to make something like it, and so I did.

I got as close as I could, and she said, had I used a difference cheese (parmesan was all I had-- I recommend goat cheese or feta), it would have been better than the Dream Cafe's. Quite a compliment! It takes some time to cook, but most of it is just baking time, and trust me, it's worth it. It's also quite filling (as a complete meal), acorn squash is in season, and, in honor of Halloween, shaped like a pumpkin! You can swap out the veggies if you'd prefer something else; I just used, again, what I had on hand. Plus, if you omit the cheese, it's vegan.

2 whole acorn squash
2 cups cooked whole grain brown rice
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup peas (or vegetable of your choice)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup goat cheese crumbles
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chopped sage
1/8 tsp garlic
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup broth or stock, divided

1. Cut off the top inch of each acorn squash. Keep the top, but scoop out and discard the seeds. If the squash won't stand up on its own, cut off a piece from the bottom to flatten it. Set the squash, including the top, aside, on a baking sheet.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and spices, and saute until the begin to soften. At this point, mix in the cooked rice, then add 3/4 cup of the stock/broth a little at a time, so that the rice absorbs it.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Once all but a few teaspoons of the stock has been incorporated, stir in the walnuts, cranberries, and parmesan. Remove from heat, and spoon into each squash. Place the tops back on the squash, and the remaining rice mixture in an oven-safe dish.
5. Bake the squash for 1 hour. When 20 minutes remain, pour the remaining stock/broth over the leftover rice mixture, cover, and put it in the oven with the squash.

Serves two.

Happy Halloween!

Chicken Sausage, Potato, and Apple Hash

My dad devoutly opposes my usage of the word hash, which to him means shredded beef, potato, and onion browned in a skillet, but which Merriam-Webster defines as "chopped food; specifically: chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned." So for this recipe I'm using the term loosely, since I'm not chopping the meat, but still. I think it applies.

I was originally inspired by this recipe, but decided I wanted to modify it to make it a full meal. Because Tessa and I have watched approximately one zillion episodes of "Chopped," and I already love hash, I decided to add roasted potato and deepen the flavors with a little thyme and garlic. I also healthed it up with chicken sausage instead of pork links, and subbed in leeks for onions, because I am leek-crazy.

This recipe only takes around 30 minutes (since you can prep everything else while the potatoes are roasting) and is full of beautiful fall flavors, and uses some of those fresh seasonal apples that are flooding farmers' markets and grocery stores around this time. I associate sage with Thanksgiving, and roasted potatoes and leeks are just melt-in-your-mouth comfort food.

I left the sausages whole to ensure that they didn't dry out, and started cooking them first to get a nice caramelization on them. Don't forget to take your sausages' flavorings into account in terms of seasoning. If you have a choice, choose one with a bit of heat; it'll nicely offset the sweetness of the apples. If you're a vegetarian, you could sub in veggie dogs or perhaps some tempeh for the chicken sausage.

1 package pre-cooked chicken sausages

3 yukon gold potatoes

1 large or 2 small leeks, cleaned and cut into half moons

3 small apples, cored and sliced or chunked

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp dried sage
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp thyme

sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Cut the potatoes into chunks and toss to coat with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and the spices. Roast in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. (Sound familiar? It's this with different spices.) Remove and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in the remaining olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the whole sausages and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure even browning.
3. Stir in the leeks, apples, and roasted potatoes. Cook until leeks and apples are tender and sausages are nicely browned, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and continuing to turn the sausages.

Serves four.

Carefully remove all kittens from skillet before cooking. 

Butternut Squash Risotto

This was my maiden voyage making risotto, a food I'm actually not as familiar with as I'd like to be. The recipe, apparently originally by Gordon Ramsey, Tessa got from a tweet by her friend Christina (@t0astbandit) and emailed to me so that I would make it. We both love butternut squash, so I gave it a whirl. I also found the most perfect local butternut squash I have ever seen. It was beautiful.

I usually post recipes with fairly quick/easy preparations, but this one is a little more complex. It took me about an hour and a half, start to finish, although about half of that time all I was doing was roasting the squash and prepping the rice.

It turned out lovely, though-- on the sweet side but still savory, nicely spiced, bright, complex flavor. It was also filling-- really stuck to my ribs-- and the cheese added a touch of richness that filled it out perfectly. Tessa will tell you, I was still remarking on the flavor of dinner two hours after we were done eating it. The only thing I would modify is that I would add the lemon juice more slowly, mixing and tasting as I go-- the batch I made yesterday was a tiny bit too lemony.

I've made two modifications to the recipe-- it calls for shallots, I used leeks instead, and I used whole grain brown rice as my base. The brown rice is for nutrition; the leeks are because I love them. Definitely a good fall dish. Vegetarian, too.

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth.
1 1/4 cups whole grain brown rice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek, finely chopped (or 2 shallots)
1 butternut squash
1 bunch of thyme sprigs

4 tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
4-5 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
12 sage leaves, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lay it on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the thyme springs evenly on top and place in the oven. 

2. Roast for about 45 minutes, until they are fully cooked, soft so that a knife can easily go through the squash. If they start to colour too much, cover with aluminum foil and return to oven. 

3. Once the squash is cooked, it remove from the oven set aside and allow to cool. Scoop out the baked flesh of the butternut squash, discarding the skins, and puree. (I used a hand mixer to puree since I'd made smoothies in the food processor-- this worked fine and the puree was still velvety.)
4. Pour 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock/broth in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the rice, return the stock to the boil and cook for 4 minutes, adding more broth/stock if necessary so that the rice is covered. Drain well.
5. In a medium saucepan, gently sauté the leeks/shallots in the remaining olive oil until soft. Add the wine, and cook until the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid has almost completely reduced. 

6. Heat the remaining stock to the boiling point. Add the rice to the shallots, then begin to add the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure that each addition has been absorbed before adding any more. Continue until the rice grains are tender.
7. Add the cold butter, then quickly stir in the butternut squash puree and allow to heat through. Then turn off the heat and add the parmesan, mascarpone, chopped sage and lemon. (Be careful with the lemon-- as I said above, mine came out a little overpowering.) Stir until all the dairy is incorporated, so that the risotto is creamy. If it becomes too dry, add a spoon or two of water, and adjust the seasoning. 

Serves four, topped with fresh-shaved Parmesan.

Gordon Ramsay Kitten says: "Shut it down!"

Roasted Potatoes

I've been on a roasting kick lately, mostly because our local farmers' markets have been supplying us with lots of fresh, local produce and roasting is a super easy cooking method that can be extremely flavorful. I love roasting squash, both summer and butternut, and one of my new standbys is roasted potatoes.

When selecting your potatoes, the smaller the better, since smaller potatoes have a higher skin-to-flesh ratio, and the skin is where the majority of the nutrients can be found. Also, colored-flesh potatoes like Yukon Gold or Purple Viking are a better choice than potatoes with white flesh, because they contain extra nutrients in the actual flesh of the potato. So choose wisely. I served these potatoes last night with some spinach and garlic chicken sausage and fresh green beans, both from the farmer's market (as were the potatoes).

1 lb small potatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
pinch of nutmeg
cayenne pepper, to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the potatoes into pieces no larger than the first part of your thumb (the one with the nail). (Do not peel. Unless they're russets. Peel russets.) Set aside.
3. Mix olive oil and spices in a large bowl until uniform. Add potatoes and toss to coat.
4. Spread potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring them around twice so that they will brown but not burn.

Serves three as a side dish.

Generally, if your kitten is smaller than the potato, it is too big.

Surprisingly Addictive Brussels Sprout Salad

Don't let the name freak you out. Brussels sprouts once elicited an emphatic ewwwww from me, until I unsuspectingly tried this recipe at my aunt and uncle's one Thanksgiving. This is the recipe-- and it's delicious!

It's the nutmeg, for me, that makes these Brussels sprouts borderline addictive. I like to serve this with roasted butternut squash (cut in half, 400 degree oven for 45 minutes, season with sea salt, fresh black pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon butter each). Sometimes I like to sprinkle it with parmesan cheese, although this would make it decidedly less vegan. Though I've only used this recipe as a side dish, a large portion could pass for a full meal, since it includes vegetable, fruit, and nut components. (By the way, have I mentioned that walnuts are a superfood?) It's light and healthy, yet satisfying. It also only takes about 10 minutes to prep and cook.

1 lb organic Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Shred the Brussels sprouts by thinly slicing.*
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Brussels sprouts, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the Brussels sprouts are bright and slightly wilted.
3. Add the walnuts and cranberries, tossing to combine.

Note: The original recipe says to core the Brussels sprouts. Removing the core decreases the bitterness of the sprouts, but it's also wasteful, and when the core is sliced up, most of the bitterness will cook out anyway.

Serves four as a side dish, two as a main course. Original recipe here.

I have captured the sprout.