Apple Pie Cookies

I made these cookies from Smitten Kitchen in May for John's graduation and we loved them.  I made them again this week.  They are really delicious, tender pie crust balanced nicely with a slice of apple.  Pretty perfect.
I only had a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, so I made them look pumpkiny but taste appley.  They are both cute and delicious!

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Every season I get so excited by the prospect of fresh seasonal vegetables.  Fall has always been my favorite season.  I love the crispness of the air, the smell of smoke in the air, the sweetness of apple cider.  The thing I have been missing is an enthusiasm for fall vegetables.  That has been gradually changing, and this year I found myself as enthusiastic for the colors of autumn as for the taste of various squashes.

I brought home this loot from the farmer's market last Thursday. Clockwise from the top, yellow button squash, kale (for pizza!), delicata squash, zucchini, apple, acorn squash, and butternut squash.  The only thing I haven't had experience cooking before is the delicata squash.  They seller at the market said you can cook it like butternut squash but it doesn't even need brown sugar.  I have never thought that butternut squash needed brown sugar anyway, so I was a bit reticent that it might be too sweet, but I gave it a try anyway.

I roasted the delicata squash, the zucchini, some onion, garlic, green beans, and cherry tomatoes in the oven all together.  I put in the squashes, the onion, and the garlic first, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted them about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven before adding the green beans, and tomatoes. I then roasted the rest about 25 minutes until the squash was tender.

 I did something I had never done with roasted vegetables before.  When I opened up the delicata squash, it had seeds, like a pumpkin or butternut squash.  I thought they would be great roasted, so I drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and garlic powder.  They roasted just like other winter squash seeds.  I then used them as a garnish when I served the roasted vegetable over quinoa.  It was a success, adding texture to the dish.

Other people's food

Today was a day of making other people's recipes.  It was fun and relaxing to not have to think about what to put in the food.  I thought I'd give my recommendations from the day.

First thing I made was these Yoga Cookies that Glutenfreesoyfreevegan recommended.  I used dried cherries and walnuts along with coconut milk for the liquid.  John says they are more like granola bites than cookies, but they are very good. 

Next was some drip beef.  It was the second recipe from this post.  It was really good, but fatty, rich, and a bit heavy.  I guess that is to be expected from a roast of this type.

 

Next, I made Happy Crackers.  I feel like all I've been doing the last few weeks is plugging My New Roots, but here I am doing it again.  These crackers are so incredibly tasty.  I made half the recipe with poppy seeds and a generous helping of salt, and the other half with sundried tomatoes, rosemary, and pine nuts.  Both are addictively good.

And last I made Italian Batter Bread from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads to go with the drip beef.  Another one I push a lot I'll admit, but it's good.

Shannon's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

My first fall of college, Shannon, a friend of mine who would become my roommate shared her family's tradition of chocolate chip pumpkin bread with our house. I was certain that I did not like pumpkin because I did not like pumpkin pie.  Shannon proved me wrong.  Her pumpkin bread was truly inspiring,  and when fall rolled around our sophomore year, we were inspired to make it again but with fresh pumpkin from the local farmers market.

Since then, her tradition has become mine.  Every fall, I find some sugar pumpkins at a farm stand, farmer's market, or as a last resort, grocery store, and make a batch of chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I am so glad that she agreed to share the recipe with me and now she is generously allowing me to share it with all of you.

Shannon's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 c flour
2 c sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 c oil (I use canola)
2 c pumpkin puree (if you want to make it fresh my instructions are here)
chocolate chips (I like 2 cups)
1 c walnuts, optional

Mix all the ingredients, pour into a greased bundt pan  and bake one hour at 325 degrees.

For this batch, I used these cute mini bundt pans my mother-in-law sent me and was happy to be able to easily give some away.  I'm in danger of eating the whole batch in less than a week if I don't pass some on to friends and neighbors.

My friend caught this accidental view of the pumpkin bread when she put her camera on the table.  Pretty awesome, right?

Pumpkin Puree

Good for many recipes from pumpkin pie to pumpkin bread, and even pumpkin french toast, I think pumpkin puree is better fresh.

I choose a medium sized sugar pumpkin or one labled "pie pumpkin".

Cut the pumpkin in half vertically, scoop out the seeds (save to roast, yum), and place facedown on a lipped cookie sheet with a cup of water poured into it.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until a fork can pierce the skin and the flesh is soft.  Scoop out the flesh and blend until smooth.

Banana Bread Pancakes

I made these amazing pancakes for breakfast this morning.  This is the second recipe I have tried from My New Roots and you better believe I will be trying as many more as I can.  I had only one complaint about these pancakes.  There weren't enough of them!  If I am feeding any more than two people next time I will double the recipe.

The batter after it sits for 30 minutes.

Beautiful brown color.

Toppings

Pancakes!

Camille using the natural light to get a picture for her blog.

Sweet Potato Frittata

I got some really great vegetables from a local farm this week and was inspire by them to make a frittata.  It was a filling and delicious lunch choice.  I got a white sweet potato which I have never tried before.  If you can't get a white sweet potato, replace it with a regular sweet potato, because the best bites are definitely the sweet potato bites.

 Sweet Potato Frittata

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 medium sweet potato, in 1/4 inch thick slices
1 medium white sweet potato, in 1/4 inch thick slices
3 small yukon gold potatoes, in 1/4 inch thick slices
2 sweet bell peppers (I used red ones from the farm), sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp almond milk
one dozen eggs
 3 large kale leaves, rinsed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Small handful fresh basil
6 plum tomatoes, in 1/4 inch thick slices

Heat the oil on medium low heat in a large cast iron skillet.  Layer the potatoes in the skillet and cover, turning every five minutes for about 15 minutes.  Add the peppers, onion, and garlic.  Continue to cook, covered, turning once for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  While the potatoes cook, whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and almond milk.  Add the kale and basil to this mixture and stir to blend. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the potatoes are tender, gently pour the egg mixture in, shifting potatoes as needed so the egg can flow around them.

Put the cast iron skillet in the oven and bake at 350 degrees until the eggs are done through, 30 to 40 minutes.

 In the last 5 minutes, lay the tomatoes on the top of the frittata.  Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Egg in the Batman. . . I mean Basket

Who hasn't had an egg in the basket prepared by a mother or a grandmother.  My father used to make them for me.  I thought this was a fun variation on it.  I got these Halloween cookie cutters from Wilton.

Cute, right?
Anyway, I know the bat is supposed to be just a bat, but my inner geek is excited by the prospect of it being Batman.

Egg in the Basket (or batman, depending on your cookie cutter)
Cut a hole in a piece of bread with a drinking glass or a cool shaped cookie cutter.  Fry an egg in the center of the bread until it's the way you like it.  Enjoy.