Pumpkin Puree to Pumpkin Pie

Here in the United States, National Pumpkin Pie day is observed on December 25th. In honor of that holiday (even though it's still a month away) and to perfect my recipe, I decided to make a pumpkin pie from the real thing. That's right, no cans here! I used a "sugar pie pumpkin" and pureed it myself. One of these days I'll make my own pie crust too, and then it will really be a made-from-scratch pie.

So, if you're still looking for something to bring to a Thanksgiving feast, here's your recipe!

Pumpkin Pie, right out of the oven!

Recipe: Pumpkin Puree to Pumpkin Pie

Sugar Pie Pumpkin, before baking

Directions for Pumpkin Puree:
(This can be done a day or two ahead, to save time.)

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse and dry the pumpkin, then cut in half.
- Remove the seeds (save them for roasting), and place the pumpkins cut side down on a baking pan lined with foil. The foil just makes clean up easier, it's not required.

Sugar Pie Pumpkin, cut in half and cooked til soft.

- Bake the pumpkin for about 40 minutes, depending on size. It is done when it is soft to the touch. I'd recommend touching it with a fork or cooking utensil, not your finger, as it will be HOT!
- When pumpkin is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool until you can hold it comfortably. (This took me about 30 minutes.)
- Scrape the inside of the pumpkin into a blender, and puree til smooth. My Vita-Mix worked great here!
- Put the puree into a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, and let drain for about an hour. You can squeeze the water out to speed up this process a little. Otherwise, your puree will remain very liquidy, resulting in a mushy pie.

Straining the puree in a cheesecloth.

Pumpkin Pie:
Ingredients;
- One Sugar Pie Pumpkin (yes, that is what they're really called), or 2C canned pumpkin puree
- Pie Crust
- 1C Heavy Cream
- 1/2C Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/3C White Sugar
- 1/2t Salt
- 2 Whole Eggs, plus 1 Yolk
- 2t Cinnamon
- 1t Ground Ginger
- 1/4t Ground Cloves
- 1/4t Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4t Ground Cardamom
- 1/2t Lemon Zest

Directions:

(Total time is 3-4 hours. Prep, cook time 65 min, cooling for 2 hours.)
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugars, salt and spices. Add in the lemon zest.
- In a small bowl, beat together the eggs. Pour eggs into large bowl with sugars.
- Add the pumpkin puree and combine.
- Add the cream and mix until everything is well combined.
- Pour mixture into pie shell, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, drop oven temperature to 350 and continue baking 40-50 minutes longer.
- Pie is done when a toothpick (or thin knife) comes out clean in the middle.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Slice, and serve with a dollop of whipped (organic) cream on top!

Pumpkin Pie, before going in the oven.

Pumpkin Pie, after baking. Smells delicious!

Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are you grateful for this year?

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa

With the return of fall weather recently, I've noticed that I'm craving less raw salads and more hearty meals. And the other night was no exception. As the seasons change, have you noticed a change in the foods your body craves?

Acorn Squash - those seeds are tasty too!

Because I've taken the October Unprocessed pledge, I took a look in my kitchen and tried to come up with something to make that would not require me to buy anything or go to a restaurant. I saw an Acorn Squash I bought recently, and decided to turn it into a complete meal. How to do that, you ask? Enter quinoa! I always have quinoa in my kitchen, in fact I have three kinds of it: white, red and black. Each ones tastes subtly different, so depending on what I'm making I'll choose a different type. To go with the squash, I decided to go with the blend, as it seems to go well with savory dishes.

To start, I roasted the squash in my oven. As that was baking, I cooked the quinoa in a pot on the stove. And miraculously, everything was done at about the same time!

A delicious meal! Yum!

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1 Acorn Squash
- 1/2C Quinoa
- 1C Water
- 1/3C Minced Onion
- 1/8C Your choice: Raisins, Currants, Cherries, or Cranberries
- 1/8C Pecans
- 1T Olive Oil
- 1T Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse and dry squash, then slice lengthwise down the middle.
- Remove and save the seeds for roasting.
- Put the squash face-down on a foil-lined baking pan. Bake about 30 minutes, or until soft.
- While squash is baking, prepare the quinoa.
- Rinse the quinoa to remove the natural saponins that give it a bitter taste. When water runs clear, put quinoa in a pot with water (ratio is same as for rice - 1:2).
- Bring water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer quinoa until water has been absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. In the last few minutes, add the onion.
- When water is absorbed, remove quinoa from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, and let sit until the squash is done.
- Spoon the quinoa into the squash, and serve.

Chard and Chickpeas with Farro

Chard wilting in the pan.

We're about a week into October now. How is your #unprocessed challenge going? I'm lucky in that our CSA delivers fresh produce year-round, making it easy for me. (To find a CSA in your area, check out Local Harvest.) Lately they've been sending us a lot of chard, so I've been finding new ways to cook with it. Here is one that I created based on what I had around the house. It was delicious, and it made enough for me to have leftovers too! And we all know how much I love my leftovers! This dish is great this month, for October Unprocessed, but it would be delicious any time.

When I make a dish that consists mainly of vegetables (like this one), I like to combine it with a whole grain. Quinoa or brown rice are my usual go-to grains that I keep around the house, but lately I've been hearing a lot about farro. I usually buy my grains in the bulk section of the grocery store, and store them in glass jars. I've found that this reduces the amount of waste from all the packaging, and also keeps my kitchen nice and organized! If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in having me give your kitchen a make-over, send me an email and let's talk!

Anyway, back to my dinner...Farro is the italian name for emmer wheat, and is an unprocessed grain of wheat. Farro is lower in gluten and higher in protein and fiber than conventional wheat. It is also high in magnesium and B vitamins. Sounds good, right? I purchased some from the bulk section at the store, and it had been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks. I thought this chard and chickpea recipe was the perfect dish to try it with. And I was right! The farro has a nice bite to it, almost like al-dente pasta, and it has a nutty flavor too. It paired very well with the chard and chickpeas, and was hearty, and left me feeling full without being stuffed. This grain could be substituted any time a recipe calls for rice, pasta, or another grain. That's the best thing about these grains - they're so interchangeable!

Finished dish, served over farro. 

Leftovers! In my glass "tupperware" to bring to work and reheat.
(Sorry for the horrible lighting here.)

Chard and Chickpeas with Farro
Ingredients:
2T Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 Small Onion, chopped
1C Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans (they're the same thing!)
1 Bunch Swiss Chard, rinsed and chopped
1 Tomato, sliced
1/2 Lemon, juiced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Stir in garlic and onion, cook and stir until soft and fragrant. They'll turn a bit translucent.
- Stir in the chickpeas, and season with s&p. Heat through.
- When chickpeas are hot (a few minutes), add the chard to the pan. Cook until wilted.
- Add tomato slices, squeeze lemon juice over the greens, and heat through.
- Plate, and season with more s&p, if desired.

Farro, almost done cooking.

Cooking Farro:
- Similar to rice, the ratio of farro to water is 1:2. For example, if cooking 1C farro, use 2C water.
- Be sure to rinse the farro before using. Even better, soak it!
- Boil water in pot, salt it, then add the rinsed farro. Cover and simmer until water is absorbed. Cooking time will vary depending on how much you're making, but 1C of farro took me about 30 minutes.

Eggplant Two Ways: Roasted & Baba Ghanoush

Dinner: Roasted Eggplant and Tomato with Pesto

I had a problem the other night. I was home alone, and there were two huge eggplants (a globe and a rosa bianca) sitting in the fridge. No matter the preparation I chose, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to eat it all in one sitting. But I needed to cook them soon. And then, I had an idea! Why not roast some eggplant tonight (with some under-ripe tomatoes), and make baba ghanoush tomorrow? Brilliant! I love meals that meld into each other - another way to use leftovers! If you aren't thinking ahead that far, you can roast the eggplant the same day as making the baba ghanoush, but be sure to allow enough time to let it cool first.

Eggplant and tomato slices. Fresh and hot, right out of the oven!

Roasted Eggplant & Tomatoes
Ingredients:
2 Eggplants (any variety will work)
4-6 Tomatoes (under-ripe works great here!)
1t Salt (plus extra)
1/4t Black Pepper, freshly ground
2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced (I used a press)
8 Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped (or 1t Dried Basil)

Directions:
- Rinse the eggplant and pat dry, then slice into 1/4" rounds, put in a colander and sprinkle with coarse salt. This draws out the moisture, making them less bitter.
- Let eggplant sit for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- When time has elapsed, remove slices and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Put slices (plus sliced tomatoes, if using) in a big bowl, and toss with salt, pepper, oil, garlic and basil.
- Lightly oil the baking sheet, and arrange slices in a single layer (use two baking sheets if you're overlapping).
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until slice turn a bit brown.
- Eat immediately, or let cool to make the baba ghanoush.

Baba Ghanoush (without tahini)

Leftover eggplant, about to be blended up!

The result: delicious Baba Ghanoush!

Ingredients:
1.5 Pounds of Eggplant, weigh before cooking (how many this is depends on size)
3T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1T Fresh Lemon Juice

Directions:
Note #1: Because I was using the seasoned roasted eggplant from the night before, I did not need to add seasoning. If you're using plain roasted eggplant, add 1t sea salt and 1 clove of pressed garlic to this recipe.
Note #2: Most recipes tell you to remove the skins of the eggplant, but I left them on the slices. Not sure how this would work in a regular blender (and I would not do it for bigger pieces) but in a Vita-Mix it turned out great.
- Add ingredients to blender or food processor, and pulse until combined to desired consistency.
- Serve either at room temp or chilled with your favorite dipping items: fresh veggies, whole wheat pita, etc. Or use as a spread on sandwiches.

Great Grains! Mom's Breakfast Porridge

Okay, I realize this may not be the most appetizing photo...but I promise it tastes divine!

I spent the night at my mom's house recently, and before going to sleep for the night, she asked me what I wanted for breakfast. Oh, the joys of having someone else prepare food for you! :-) She's eaten healthy for as long as I can remember, so I simply told her, "I'll have whatever you're having."

The next morning, I walked into the kitchen to the delicious smell of grains cooking on the stove. I thought it was oatmeal, but it turned out to be something much more delicious. And much healthier too! All sorts of whole grains, cooking in almond milk and spices. I couldn't wait to dig in! She spooned some into a bowl for me, and I added in toppings from the assorted jars she'd placed on the counter: coconut, nuts, cinnamon, chia, flax, and maple syrup.

It was a delicious start to my day, and was very filling! I didn't feel stuffed at all, but it kept me going until lunch time, and I didn't even need my usual mid-morning snack. Thanks Mom for sharing the recipe with me!

Mom's Breakfast Porridge (serves 2)
Ingredients:
3/4C any combination of steel cut oats, quinoa (rinsed), millet, teff, amaranth
2C Water
1/4C Almond Milk (or your milk of choice)
Dash of salt, nutmeg, and cloves
Splash of Vanilla Extract
Ginger (about 1t fresh, or 1/2t dried)

Toppings: (any combination you desire, to add after cooking)
Chia Seeds
Ground Flax Seeds
Shredded Coconut
Cacao Nibs
Gogi Berries
Nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, pecans)
Cinnamon
Fruit (such as berries or banana)
Honey or Maple Syrup to sweeten

Directions:
- Be sure to rinse the quinoa well if you're using it. The grain naturally contains a coating called saponin that makes it taste bitter (and has a laxative effect).
- Put your desired grains into a pot with the milk/water mixture, and heat on the stove.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes (keep an eye on it so you don't almost burn it like I did!).
- Let it stand about 5 minutes, this will thicken the mixture.
- Spoon into bowls and mix in your favorite toppings! If it has gotten too thick, add some more milk and stir.

Sweet Potato "Chips"

Slicing the sweet potato. You can go even thinner than this!

Sliced and ready to go into the toaster oven.

I have to give credit to my friend Caley for sharing this recipe on her blog a few months ago. Since reading it, I have made these chips multiple times. I've both eaten them plain and dunked them in guacamole as she suggests, and however you eat these bite-sized morsels, they are delicious!

Sweet potato chips! Yum!

Directions:

- Take an organic sweet potato (or two, or three) and after rinsing it with a potato brush, dry it and slice very thinly. The thinner you slice, the crispier the chip.

- In a large bowl, mix the potato slices with a little olive oil and salt (and any herbs you desire, such as thyme or rosemary).

- Spread slices on a baking sheet in a single layer, and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, flipping them over about halfway through.

- They're done when they're crispy! Exact baking time will depend on thickness, so keep an eye on the chips. Let them cool, if you can, and enjoy with your favorite dip.

Fun with Rhubarb

Know what else is in season here in Northern California? Rhubarb! Never heard of it? Don't know what to do with it? Great - this post will explain it to ya!

Raw rhubarb stalks

Rhubarb is a plant that has pink/red stalks and green leaves at the top. Unless you grow rhubarb yourself, you will never see the leaves as sellers take them off before displaying them. The leaves contain oxalic acid, which is toxic. However you would need to eat a LOT of them for the toxic effects to be apparent. Oxalic acid is common in plants, it can also be found in small amounts in spinach leaves, black tea, and sorrell - all delicious things!

Anyway, eating the rhubarb stalks is perfectly safe. And while I've heard of some savory recipes, my favorite way to enjoy rhubarb is to make a pie! Even a health coach has to give in to her sweet tooth every once in a while, right? When I heard the other day that rhubarb was in season, my mouth started watering for my mom's rhubarb pie recipe. While many recipes will combine rhubarb with strawberries, I prefer the taste of rhubarb by itself. It has a deliciously tart flavor that I really enjoy. I scoured the markets to find some so that I could recreate my memory. If you have a pie crust recipe you like go ahead and use it here, but I prefer to buy a pre-made crust. And apparently EpiCurious agrees with my choice for the best tasting traditional pie crust!

I almost forgot to take a picture of a slice, we gobbled it up so fast!

Mom's Rhubarb Pie

Just out of the oven - smells SO good!

Ingredients:
2 9" Pie Crusts
3C Rhubarb, rinsed and cut into small pieces
1C Sugar
2T Flour
1 Egg

Directions:
- Prepare pie crust. If using frozen, allow it to thaw.
- In large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and egg.
- Mix in rhubarb.
- Put mix into a 9" pie crust.
- Top with a second crust.
- Bake for about 40 minutes at 425 degrees.
- Allow pie to cool for a few hours (or day before) before eating, this lets the inside set instead of being liquidy.

Baked to deliciousness

I had a little extra rhubarb left over, so I experimented with some strawberry and rhubarb crumbles. No recipe for these as I just threw them together, but I thought I'd share the pictures.

Before baking

Oven Steamed Halibut & Stir-Fried Bok Choy

With all the bok choy our CSA has been sending us in our boxes recently, this meal has quickly become one of our favorite ways to enjoy it. Both recipes in this post, the Oven-Steamed Halibut and the Stir-Fried Bok Choy, are quick and easy to make. If you're eating grains, brown rice served on the side is a great way to soak up all the delicious sauce...it tastes so good, it's a shame to let the extra sauce go to waste!

Halibut - just out of the oven

Oven Steamed Halibut (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 Scallions
2" Fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced thin
4 4oz Halibut Fillets (or other delicate, white fish such as sole, flounder)
2T Soy Sauce
2T Sherry/Rice Vinegar
1t Sesame Oil
1/2t Sugar

Directions:
- Put 1/3 of the scallions and ginger in a 9x13 glass baking dish.
- Place fish fillets on top, then scatter the remaining scallions and ginger on top.
- Mix the sauce in a bowl, and pour over the fish.
- Let marinate about 15 minutes.
- Seal with foil, bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. (You  might need more or less time depending on the thickness of your fish.)
- Fish is cooked when the color has turned white, and easily flakes with a fork.
- Plate pieces of fish and spoon sauce on top to serve.

Bok Choy - almost done

Stir-Fried Bok Choy
Ingredients:
2-4 bunches of Organic Bok Choy (depending on size)
2T High heat oil (such as sesame, safflower or peanut)
1T Soy Sauce
Optional: sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, ginger, chili paste

Directions:
- Chop the ends off the bok choy, so that the leaves fall apart. Rinse all leaves well, as dirt can accumulate in there. Dry off the leaves as best you can, but some water is okay.
- The exact size is up to you, but separate the white part of the leaf from the green. As you chop, put the white and green parts into separate piles, as they require different cooking times. I like to do roughly bite-sized pieces, because then I can use chopsticks with my meal instead of needing a knife.
- If you're using any of the optional ingredients, slice those up now.
- In a fairly large saucepan, heat the oil over med-high heat. Once it is hot, add the white parts of the bok choy. (If you're using garlic/ginger/onions, add those first and heat til fragrant. Do not brown them!)
- Stir everything well, so that the oil is well distributed.
- Cover the pan, and cook for a couple minutes.
- When the white part of the bok choy is soft, add the green parts. If you're adding mushrooms, do that now.
- Continue to cook, uncovered, until green parts have wilted.
- When vegetables have cooked, turn down the heat and add soy sauce/chili paste to taste. Stir to coat.
- Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Potato Leek & Spinach Soup

What to do when your CSA box (or local market) provides you with leeks, potatoes and spinach all in the same week? Let's also pretend that it's a cold, foggy day and you want to curl up on the couch with something warm in your hand. Well, what I did is learn how to make Potato Leek Soup!

In keeping with one of my intentions for 2012, which was to make more soups at home, I looked through many recipes trying to find the "perfect" one to try. Some use broth, others use water. Some include cream while others do not.

The recipe I made is a blend of a few different versions I came across, but what was most exciting to me was that I came across a recipe that included spinach in the soup. The addition of spinach excited me, as I always get excited when I can throw more veggies into one dish! Plus, the added nutrients from the leafy green make this hearty soup even better for you! Spinach is rich in anti-oxidants, minerals and Vitamins K, A and Folate (a B vitamin). Be sure to chose organic for this recipe, especially the butter, potatoes and spinach. Also, for you vegetarians/vegans out there, this recipe could easily be made vegan by replacing butter with oil, chicken broth with veggie broth, and omitting the cream. I'm sure it would be delicious that way too!

Cook up a pot tonight, and enjoy!

Potato, Leek & Spinach Soup (serves 6)
Ingredients:
3T Organic Butter
3 Organic Leeks, sliced thin
1 Organic Onion, chopped
2 Organic Garlic Cloves, chopped
4-6 Organic Potatoes, washed and cut into 1" cubes (more = thicker soup)
4C Organic Broth (chicken or veggie - homemade is even better!)
1/2t Ground Nutmeg
1 Bay Leaf
1C Organic Spinach, roughly chopped
1C Heavy Cream
Salt & White Pepper to taste

Directions:
- Over medium heat, melt butter in large, heavy-bottom soup pot. Add leeks, garlic and onion and cook until just tender. Try not to let them brown!
- Add potatoes, stir to combine. Heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add enough broth to cover the potatoes. Also add the nutmeg and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Working in batches, blend the soup. Add a handful of chopped spinach (yes, it's uncooked) to the blender.
- Return the blended soup to the pot, add the cream and stir. Heat another 15 minutes.
- Add salt and white pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
- Serve hot and garnished with parsley, if you have any.

Butternut Squash, Chard and Leek Risotto

It was a dark and stormy night...the perfect weather for a warm, hearty meal! Okay, so it wasn't actually stormy, but it was dark and it was cold outside. In deciding what to make for dinner, I looked in my fridge and around my kitchen and thanks to my CSA I had squash, chard and leeks (among other things). After scouring the internet for inspiration on how to use these three ingredients, I came across some ideas for dinner, and ended up with this risotto. With a few minor tweaks, it could easily be made vegetarian or even vegan. It can be a stand-alone dish, or you could serve it with a side salad. Like most risotto recipes, this makes a LOT of food, and we all know I'm a huge fan of leftovers!

A hearty serving of risotto.

Besides being delicious, this recipe provides you with a lot of helpful vitamins and nutrients too! Check it out:
Butternut Squash: Low in calories, high in fiber, has TONS of Vitamin A (used by the body to repair skin and mucus membranes, and essential for good vision), Vitaminc C, is rich in many B-complex vitamins (folate, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, and pantothenic acid), and it contains essential minerals. It's a bonus if you eat the seeds, as these have vitamins and minerals too, as well as the essential amino acid Tryptophan (this converts to GABA in the brain, which can help to stabilize moods).
Chard: A dark leafy green high in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, Vitamin K (needed for calcium absorption), calcium, and may help regulate blood sugar.
Leeks: An Allium vegetable (like it's cousins garlic and onion), supports our cardiovascular system, folate, manganese, iron, flavonoids, and antioxidant polyphenols.
Butter: Yes, butter is actually good for you if it comes from organic, pasture-raised cows. It contains the fat-soluble vitamins A, E, K and D, and also selenium and iodine (needed by our thyroid). It contains fatty acids that boost our immune system and are easily broken down for energy and not stored as fat. Butter does have cholesterol, but did you know our bodies require cholesterol for intestinal, brain and nervous systems?

But anyway, on to the recipe...

Butternut Squash, Chard and Leek Risotto (serves 4-8)
Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash - peeled, seeded and diced
3T Olive Oil
2 Leeks - sliced thin
2 Cloves Garlic - chopped
1 Bunch of Chard - remove stems
4C Chicken or Vegetable Broth, plus 1C Water
4T Organic Butter
2C Arborio Rice - rinsed
1 1/2C Dry White Wine
3/4C Parmesan Cheese - freshly grated
1/4t Nutmeg
2T Fresh Sage - minced
Toasted Pine Nuts as garnish

Directions:
- In a large skillet or heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat 2T oil over medium heat. Add Squash and cook until soft, about ten minutes.
- In a separate saucepan, bring the Broth to a simmer, then keep warm over very low heat.
- When Squash is done, put it in a bowl and set aside for now.
- In the same (hot) pan over medium heat, add 1T Oil and coat the bottom. Add the Chard and cover. Let the chard steam for a couple of minutes, then uncover and continue to cook until the chard is wilted. When done, put chard into a strainer.
- After removing the chard, into the same pan put 3T of butter. Melt completely, then add the Leeks and Garlic. Also add some Salt and Pepper to taste. Saute, stirring frequently, until leeks are softened.
- Add the Arborio Rice to the pan, and stir until rice is translucent. This should only be a few minutes.
- Add the Wine, and continue to stir until all liquid has been absorbed.
- When all wine has been absorbed, add 3C of Broth and the squash and stir to combine.
- Let the mixture simmer, and stir every few minutes. When the bottom begins to get sticky, add more broth a half cup at a time, stir and simmer. Continue like this until the rice is al dente.
- When the rice is done, turn off the heat and add: 1T Butter, Parmesan, Nutmeg and Sage. Stir to combine.
- Squeeze any excess liquid out of the chard, and roughly chop. Add to the rice and stir.
- Taste the risotto, and adjust any spices, if necessary.
- Plate the risotto in shallow bowls, and top with freshly toasted Pine Nuts.