Apple Crisp - Beginning of Fall

Today marks the beginning to one of my favorite Seasons.  Fall is when the hustle and bustle slows down, the leaves turn to gold and crimson, the weather cools down and I start to make soups and fruit crisp!  Last evening I felt the urge to make a big pot of lentil soup.  The body knows when it's Fall.

Even though, my vegetable growing was lack luster, the fruit trees in this part of the country are heaving with apples, peaches, pears and apricots.  Now, is when I wish I had planted fruit tress.  Normally, they don't thrive in this climate and/or altitude, but this year we were never subjected to the late Spring frost!   Who knows; Maybe next year!

One of my neighbors "donated" the apples for this crisp.  Whenever I have those "reject" apples..You know, the ones no one will eat because of a bruise or two, I make a batch of applesauce.  Just peel, core and slice or cut into chunks, depending on what you'll use them for.   Put into a 3 qt saucepan with a little bit of water, cinnamon and sugar (I use a packet of truvia.)  Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat to simmer until they're softened.  Then you can have fresh applesauce on oatmeal, with pork chops or make an apple crisp!  For this recipe I used about 2 1/2 cups of cooked apples.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter (or use coconut oil) an 8x8 inch square baking pan.  In a medium bowl put:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)

add:

1/2 (4 oz) butter (cut up)

Work the chunks of butter in until you have a coarse meal (slightly lumpy).  

add:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

Mix well.  Pour the apples into the pan, leveling them out.  Add the flour/oat mix on top, spreading evenly and gently press down.  Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Can be served warm or cold.  It's just plain great, anyway!

NOTE:  While I can take credit for the apple crisp picture, the changing colors of the leaves picture was taken during a New England Fall vacation several years ago.  You need to see the hills with flaming crimson, gold and yellow at least once.  Put it on your "bucket list".  Gorgeous!

The Colors and Flavors of Fall

This is my favorite time of year.  It's a time to harvest and "close the book" in my garden.  The weather has been holding steady with 70ish temperatures, barely any wind and the trees are making a brilliant spectacle of themselves.  It's their time to shine and they don't disappoint in these parts of the woods.  The sky is a deep blue almost every day with a spattering of clouds and the clean crisp air compliments my walking routine.

My inspirational view while walking

With the Fall comes a variety of flavors, too.  By this time I should have made pumpkin bread, pancakes, soups and maybe some stews.  But, my kitchen has been severely lacking of any signs of creativity and those great Fall flavors.  Yes, still on the "eating plan" and I have lost about 18 lbs.  Hooray!  On the other hand I feel sorry for my hubby having been deprived of some of the nice meals he's grown accustomed to over the years.  Fear not, it won't be forever.  It just seems that way!

Fresh pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter

pumpkin ginger pie bars!

If you're looking for a few pumpkin ideas, look no further.  These are the "best" of last year, same time!  Pumpkin gnocchi and a pumpkin ginger pie bar recipe for you to make and enjoy.  Let me know how they turn out!  I know, I'm itching to try them once more, SOON!

Cobbler and Comfort Food

This time of year there would be a flurry of activity in my kitchen.  It's the perfect time of year for baking with pumpkins, fruits and zucchini.  Last year I was busy baking pumpkin gnocchi, soups, bread puddings and one of my favorites, a pear cobbler crisp!  Oh, how I miss the baking and inventing new recipes.    When I can't work in the kitchen I'll go out to the garden.

One thing I managed to do before the snow hit the other day was to harvest some of my herbs.  With our short growing season (and this year was especially brief), I keep with mostly perennial herbs, like lavender, thyme, and oregano.   A welcome addition to my garden this summer was lemon balm.  Unfortunately, it does not winter very well, so I pulled it, hung it upside down to dry,  and harvested the leaves for that summer flavor  in the dead of winter.  It goes well in recipes for fish, chicken, pastas and desserts.  I'll be planting it again next season!

To celebrate this year's harvest, I'm re-posting my pear cobbler crisp.  Make some and enjoy!  It can also be made with peaches, just as good!

Ingredients:

2 large ripe pears, peeled and sliced
1 T sugar
2/3 c oats
1 tsp cinnamon
2 T crystallized ginger pieces
3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk
dash of cinnamon on top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 9 glass baking pan.  In a bowl mix the pears, sugar, oats, cinnamon and ginger.  Pour into the pan.  Then mix the remaining ingredients and place over the pears.  Stir only slightly.  Add a few drops of butter and a dash of cinnamon.  Bake for 40 minutes or so.  This is better as it gets cold in the refrigerator, but hard to resist when it comes out of the oven.  The warmth of the ginger makes it a perfect and simple snack cake.

Pumpkin Ginger Pie Bars

Is anyone out there tired of pumpkin yet? I'm not. It's really too bad that pumpkin is so prevalent in the fall months and all but disappears the rest of the year. You can always get your hands on canned pumpkin so there's no excuse to go without.

Another flavor that grows on you (you either love it or hate it) is ginger. Many Asian meals will have some ginger for the main spice. While I don't cook many Asian recipes because of all the slicing and dicing, etc, I love to sprinkle ginger into baked goods such as cakes, cookies and these pumpkin ginger bars. I savor the spicy sweetness and heat that comes through with every bite. So, if you want the flavors of pumpkin pie with chunks of ginger, try this one. It's super easy too.

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened

3/4 c brown sugar, light or dark

3/4 cup pumpkin, canned

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

1/2 c chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup flour

1 tsp ginger, ground

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

Set oven at 350 degrees. Spray (or butter) a 9 by 9 inch baking pan. Cream butter and sugar, add the pumpkin and maple flavoring, beating well. Add the remaining ingredients and pour into the pan. Bake for around 20 minutes. Cool completely. IMPORTANT HINT: You will be tempted to try these as soon as they have cooled, but put them in the refrigerator for a few hours for the best result. The flavors will really come through. You won't be sorry for the wait!

Pumpkin Gnocchi - Pasta of the month

November's pasta of the month is a "first" for me. I've had pumpkin ravioli several times , however, I didn't want to be too ambitious on my initial attempt. I have made a vow to myself to try many culinary "firsts". One will be homemade tortillas; another will be my quest for the lasagna I was served in Costa Rica, of all places. I have been gathering different recipes on a good hearty bolognese sauce. After the perfection of the best sauce I will construct the remainder of the lasagna. Hopefully by Christmas I should have a lasagna equal to the best!

Until then, I tried pumpkin gnocchi which proved to be extremely easy. Of course the appearance wasn't the best but the taste was not bad for the first attempt! I served them with a brown butter sage sauce which is a nice compliment to the subtle pumpkin flavored chewy goodness of the gnocchi.

The ingredients are probably in your pantry right now, so why not give it a try!

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree

2 3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all the above to a good consistency which is neither sticky nor loose. You may need to add extra flour. Then divide into about 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter using a lightly floured surface. Slice the rope into 1 inch pieces. I only used half this recipe to cook enough for 2 hungry adults with leftovers. Refrigerate or freeze the rest for later use. To cook the gnocchi, place them in a large pot of lightly salted water. Bring water to a slow boil, add the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the top. Serve with the sauce of your choice. Very simple but elegant. Your family will think you were in the kitchen all day!

This recipe guide was found on Foodista.com

Ole Fiesta Salad

Somewhere in the world there is a fiesta going on. It's sure not in this neck of the woods. Fall has settled in. Most of the colorful leaves of a few weeks ago have flown away. I love those wind storms we get only because they save me from doing any raking. The leaves are usually nicely blown into neat piles around the yard. The weather is noticeably cooler with storm clouds hovering over the mountaintops.

So why am I putting this recipe on my blog? It seems so inappropriate for the weather. Everyone is busy making Halloween costumes or making concoctions where pumpkin plays the starring role.

One reason is that it has been on my featured recipes list long enough and it's also super easy to throw together. Healthy too! You can always offset it with a few snickers bars, tonight! So if you're in a bind for time make this any time of the year.

Ingredients:

1 cup black beans

1/2 c red pepper, chopped

2 T onions, cut up

1 T chipotle hot sauce

1 T fresh lime juice

salt & pepper to taste

1 c roasted corn, or cooked frozen will do.

1/2 c chopped cherry tomatoes

1 handful chopped parsley

1 handful chopped cilantro

Mix all the above in a bowl, refrigerate for an hour or longer. Ole!

Pasta of the Month - October Butternut Squash and Sausage Penne

Pasta has always been one of my favorite dishes. As I've been exposed to different cultures I've found that creating pasta has endless possibilities. Pretty much, anything goes or shall I say, anything can go into pasta. Be creative!

As I've explained in previous entries, I like to roast most of my vegetables before they enter into a recipe. The flavor becomes so sweet and earthy at the same time and improves the overall dish. For "October pasta of the month" I chose to roast butternut squash. It's almost as seasonal as pumpkins. The hard part is cutting up and peeling, but, it's so worth it!

This last weekend we got together with some dear friends, our traveling buddies. We've spent time together in Mexico and Italy and will be in Costa Rica by the end of the year. It's a great friendship and partnership. They even let me experiment on them in their beautiful kitchen. I precooked most of the ingredients beforehand, packaged them up for the drive and literally threw them together for our dinner together. My only regret is that I'm not familiar with propane stove tops (mine is electric) and almost succeeded in blowing up their house! Not good!

Anyway, we sat down to a wonderful meal with great friends. Salute!

Ingredients:

2 cups pre -roasted butternut squash cut into bite size pieces

2 Italian sausages removed from casings and crumbled (I used hot)

3/4 c onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fennel seeds, fresh fennel would be better

2 T olive oil

box of penne pasta

1 handful basil, fresh chopped

1 handful parsley, fresh chopped

2 handfuls Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 c pasta water

2 handfuls pine nuts

drizzle of more oil

Roast the squash and set aside. Put sausage in skillet and brown, add oil, garlic , onion and fennel seeds. Meanwhile boil water for penne. When done, add the 1/2 c pasta water to meat mixture. Then add the drained pasta, stir together and add the butternut squash, basil, parsley, cheese and pine nuts. When completely mixed drizzle with more olive oil and serve with additional cheese and red chili flakes for more heat if you wish.

Splendor in the Sierras or the Trail of Torture?

I got a new pair of shoes yesterday. Trail hiking shoes. In order to condition myself for some hiking in the Costa Rican rain forest, (right) we set out from our home for a climb into the Sierras. I've been walking a bunch lately as part of my slim down plan. Walking is the best exercise I've found. What a revelation! This would be a piece of cake.

On the way the sights are always breath taking as our home sits at the base of the mountain range with streams carving their way into the Truckee Meadows. We found a level winding trail just skirting the Montreux golf course which we followed into the forest. Evidently it's a mountain biking and horse trail but an easy and steady climb you can walk for miles. That is until you decide to go treasure hunting for gems. I guess I've been watching too many Travel Channel segments about finding treasures in rocks. Thankfully I wore a multi pocketed jacket to start out because I 'm just sure I found the biggest jade rock on the trail. Needless to say, I stuffed my pockets with "treasures" and carried them out. (in much smaller pieces)

Now, I stepped on the scale this week and was down about 13 lbs (hooray!) so I could easily carry these rocks out with me. Did I mention that I was ready to call a cab after the first mile? And by the home stretch of maybe a 1/4 mile I found myself singing my ipod tunes (I don't usually sing in public.) to mask the pain I was feeling in the balls of my feet. I was breaking in my new shoes! Or were they breaking me in? Rounding the corner to my house I wanted to jump for joy but I knew that would have done me in. Was it the torture trail or a stroll in the Sierras? Actually both, but I'm always thankful that I can experience the pain and pleasures that life has a habit of revealing. Enjoy the journey no matter where it takes you and how you feel!

Autumn is in the air

Can you feel it? Autumn is right around the corner. This is my favorite time of year. Summer is winding down along with the intense heat. Hooray! The mornings are crisp and cool allowing for a pleasant walk instead of racing to beat the heat. A trip to the local nursery is proof that the seasons are changing. Loads of mums, grasses, coleus and bags of spring bulbs are waiting to be purchased.

With the coming of Fall, I'm anxious to cook some of my heartier meals. Clam chowder, minestrone, risottos and lamb curry to name a few. And then Christmas will be here before you know it. A cooking extravaganza and only 4 months away! Pumpkin bread, Umbrian Soup, Czech bread and Lentil Soup. Somehow none of these ever sound appetizing in the Summer. Must be the heat of the oven! Last Winter I baked and baked just so I could warm the house with the oven. It was a cold one. Don't get me wrong I cherish the seasons and how each one brings a special beauty to the year. I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, maybe a home in Italy for the Summer would be ideal. And then there is that beach home in Mexico for the Winter. But, no matter what the season, here are words to live by: "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enjoy the day you're in!