Pumpkin Feast - aka Pumpkin Pancakes and Pumpkin Spice Latte

I'm sort of kicking butt with posts today.  In honor of the start of fall (and non-100 degree weather!), I decided to incorporate pumpkin into my food today.  I started off with some pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes and also decided to attempt a mock of starbuck's pumpkin spice latte.  The latte was alright, not starbucks quality at all, but worth a shot.  Pancakes were perfect even with using just a bisquick base.

Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 cup bisquick pancake mix
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4-1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• Nonstick cooking spray

Butter and Syrup if you like that on your cakes normally.

Combine all ingredients - batter might be a little thin.  Cook like regular pancakes.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

• 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup Rice Milk
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups strong coffee
• more sweetener as necessary

Combine rice milk, pumpkin puree, stevia, and spices.  Heat in a small sauce pan over low heat until milk is frothy.  Remove from heat.

Pour 1/2 of pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug.  Heat for 30 seconds in microwave if it has cooled down too much.  Add 1 cup of strong coffee.  Stir.  Top off with a touch more pumpkin base and sprinkle with some nutmeg.  If you like whip cream you can go for that too.

Burgers Al Pastor with Cilantro Fries

I definitely made these last weekend with the intention of posting them, but then time got away from me.  The burger was pretty delicious, but I think I'd like to add some more toppings next time.  Cilantro fries were pretty much the best fries I've ever had, of course I used some extra garlic so they might better be called cilantro-garlic fries.

Burgers Al Pastor

• 3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and soaked (you can sub other dried chiles if necessary)
• 1 teaspoon dried majoram
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 clove garlic peeled
• 1/4 white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of pineapple juice (sweetened)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound lean ground beef (pork would be more traditional)
• 1/2 inch pineapple slices (fresh is best, canned is okay)
• 4 hamburger buns
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• mayonaise
• sliced onion

Drain the soaked chiles and put them in a blender with the majoram, oregano, garlic, onion, and pineapple juice and puree until smooth.  Add the salt and pepper, mixing to combine.

Put the meat into a large bowl and pour the marinade on top.  Mix well using a fork.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat.  Divide meat into 4 equal portions and shape into 1/2 inch thick patties.

Oil the grill pan and work in batches until cooked through (6 to 8 minutes per side).  Set aside and grill pineapple slices (about 2 minutes each side).

Toast hamburger buns and spread mayonaise on them.  Use onion and cilantro leaves to top the burger.

Cilantro Fries

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bag frozen potato wedges (preferably organic)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In a food processor combine garlic, cilantro, salt, and oil.  Stir in frozen fries coating evenly.  Spread the fries across the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping the potatoes half way through.  Enjoy!

recipes courtesy of marcela valladolid

So Good Vegan Blueberry Muffins

My friend Sondra sent me this delicious and easy blueberry muffin recipe from her mom's kitchen.  I'm not normally a muffin person, but I received a package of fresh blueberries in the produce box that was delivered to my house this week - so why not?  These are great muffins - with the perfect amount of sweetness (ie not too cakey).  Plus with whole grain flour, these are probably about as healthy as blueberry muffins get.

Makes 8 regular sized muffins

1 and 1/2 Cups whole grain flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup rice milk or soy milk (I prefer rice milk)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 small carton fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Add milk and oil and mix by hand until all incorporated.  Coat blueberries in a little flour before you add them to the mixture.  Drop by 1/4 cup scoops into a greased muffin pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Kale with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers

My family gets this box of delicious local produce delivered to our doorstop every other week.  While you can check to see what comes in the box, its kind of fun to let it be a surprise and try out what ever arrives.  The produce usually comes with a few delectable recipes that feature that week's selection in the ingredients.

I obviously love Kale and roasting it with balsamic vinegar makes it doubly fantastic.  Its true that roasting during the summer can be a pain, but this is worth the extra sweat.

Serves 2

1/2 cup padron peppers
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 head kale, washed, stems removed and cut in 1 inch slices cross wise
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425.  Remove stems and seed from the peppers.  Place peppers, cherry tomatoes, and kale in 3 individual bowls.  Toss each with 1/3 of the oil, salt, and pepper.

Place peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and roast another 10 minutes.  Add kale last and roast until just wilted, about 2-4 minutes.

Remove from oven toss together with Balsamic vinegar and serve.

Money Penny Pasta

Things are just starting to get busy so I don't know how much I'll be cooking and blogging during the semester.  This pasta is my quick go to meal - especially using frozen veggies so I don't have to do much chopping :)

Serves 4
2 heaping tablespoons of pesto sauce
8 oz. or 1/2 a box Mini Penne Pasta
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes with oil
1 package frozen spinach defrosted and drained
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta in salted boiled water and set aside.  Cook onion over medium high heat using oil from sun dried tomatoes to sauté.   When onions are translucent add frozen spinach, frozen peas and sun dried tomatoes, sprinkling with salt and pepper.  Stir in pesto and pasta heating just long enough to help the pesto combine into dish easily.

Spicy Veggie Wrap

I was watching a travel show on food network a while ago and saw a chef make a "frankie roll."  Apparently this is a super popular street food in India.  Now I have pretty much no experience with Indian food aside from eating it, so I sort of stumbled around the internet looking for recipes.  I then stumbled through a variety of grocery stores (safeway, trader joes, etc.) and attempted to find the spices the recipes called for.

Any who I got lucky at Whole Foods and proceeded to attempt a simple veggie roll.  Next time I try making Indian food I'm going to try and watch some videos first.

2 medium potatoes peeled, chopped into bite size pieces, and boiled
1 yellow bell pepper
1 large onion chopped (I used a red onion for color)
1 carrot chopped
1/2 a cup of frozen peas
1 small can chopped green chiles
2 cloves garlic smashed
1/2 a teaspoon of red chili powder
1/2 a teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 a teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons Chaat Masala
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon canola oil

Prepare the veggies and set aside.  In a pan heat oil.  Add mustard seeds, onions,  and green chiles - cook until onion is translucent.  Add all other vegetables, garlic, and spices cooking until tender. Salt to taste.  Set aside.

Wrap veggies in whole grain tortillas or for authenticity use a Roti.  Serve with chutney :)

Italian Savory Muffins

I'm not a huge fan of sweet in the morning.  Even though I'm a pancake kid, I always hold the syrup.  When I saw a friend post a recipe for savory breakfast muffins I thought I ought to give it a go.  I found a bunch of recipes, mushed them together and stirred in some italian flavor.  It turned out molto bene :)

1.5 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion minced small

2 cloves garlic smashed

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 Cup whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 Tablespoon parsley

2 eggs

1 Cup milk

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 Cup pancetta browned and chopped into small bits

1/2 Cup asiago cheese

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella 

Shredded parmesan sprinkled on top

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until soft.

In a bowl combine flours, baking powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and parsley.  

In another bowl combine eggs, milk, and dijon mustard.  Add the pancetta and cheeses to this bowl.

Stir wet mixture into dry mixture until combined.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  I also like to melt a bit of butter with some crushed garlic to brush on top of the muffins when they are done baking.