cauliflower and chickpea stew
Here we are, the day before our national holiday that is devoted completely to the celebration of food. Everyone is excited for turkey and stuffing, but what do we eat in the days prior to? My idea of the perfect meal last night, was something light and full of veggies. A rich traditional meal will be even more of a treat after something lighter in days past. So in addition to making a pumpkin pie for tomorrow (yum!), I decided to try out this recipe from a newly acquired copy of Real Simple.
multigrain pancakes
It’s official. Winter has come to Bozeman. In the last two days, we have gotten about 6-8 inches of snow and the low for the day is zero degrees (Fahrenheit not Celsius). Brrr! That’s cold, even for here, for this time of year. The days of riding my bike across town to work have come to a close for the season and the days of shoveling snow from the driveway (which I somehow derive great pleasure from) have begun. Izzy loves it too. She runs around attacking and eating as much of the snow as she can get in her little mouth. Some of her favorite treats are ice cubes from the freezer, so to her this is like a whole yard full of treats. So come on snow gods, keep it a-coming. I’m ready to go skiing.
a pumpkin failure
This post was supposed to be called “A Pumpkin Extravaganza” but instead wound up with this name. I had Halloween night off work so thought it would be fun to do a whole pumpkin theme dinner. The plan was to make a roasted pumpkin, mushroom, and farro dish with chard and some curry, an experimental combination of one of my favorite Heidi Swanson meals and this tasty looking salad at Smitten Kitchen. Unfortunately, that got the kibosh immediately. I came home with these two nice sugar pumpkins (see above) and couldn’t cut into them, not for lack of trying. I have never cooked with real (i.e. not canned) pumpkins before. So I think they weren’t quite ripe. I should try to smash one on the driveway. I bet it won’t break but instead bounce slightly like a rock would.
Part two of “A Pumpkin Extravaganza” was dessert. These pumpkin bars are treats from my childhood that I used to love. My parents would make them and keep them in the freezer so a pan would last for months. It would freeze your teeth a little when you bit into one, but that was the best way to eat them. I was so disappointed when I tried one of these once they cooled. They are so bland and blah! This could be because I changed the recipe slightly, but in doing so, I learned two valuable lessons: Continue Reading →
zucchini bread
Happy Halloween weekend, all. I just finished carving my pumpkin, who looks a little lopsided and has a mustache (not a curvy, toothless mouth). I put together my costume and, maybe more importantly, my dog’s costume . I got candy to hand out to my neighbor’s children on Wednesday. My favorite costume last time they were trick-or-treating was a girl who came dressed as a toilet. She had a lid that closed on her face and a tank on her back — awesome! I heard a statistic the other day that said we Americans are estimated to spend over 7 billion dollars on our favorite October holiday this year. Pretty crazy, but I am a part of that and am pretty excited. So why do we like Halloween so much? Is it that when we dress as someone else, we lose inhibitions and be ourselves? Is it that we can escape and be someone else? Is it that we are given a societal OK for one day to look silly, sexy, or stupid without being judged? Or maybe we just really like candy.
Whatever it is, I think I baked with the wrong squash today. I had one zucchini from the garden left and I had to use it up. (Pumpkin posts to come.) This is my favorite quick bread that I have ever had. It hails from a co-worker of my mom’s from back in the day. She was the Lunds store’s resident foodie and food expert before those were even words that people used.
zucchini chocolate cake
I am fascinated by enormous zucchini. When zucchini get to the size they should be picked at, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Usually they are bigger than my arm by the time they come off the plant. Why do I do this? The better (more) to bake with, my pretty… Anyway, This cake is one of my favorites from growing up. It is best the day it was baked, before it has been covered and the crisp, toasty pecans rehydrate and get that slight sogginess about them. It’s also good for breakfast with a cup of coffee. It is late summer in cake form.
