Category Archives: Recipes

Punk(in)’d: One pumpkin, five ways

Despite our plethora of homegrown winter squash, when Matthew saw a big (nineteen pounds!), beautiful, heirloom pumpkin at Local Harvest Grocery for less than six dollars last fall, he couldn’t resist.

The big guy hung out in our basement over the winter, and we finally got around to cooking it last Saturday.  We left it whole and squeezed it into the oven (it barely fit), where it roasted at about 380° F, until tender and starting to collapse.  (The rimmed baking tray underneath it was a must, as it released over six cups of “pumpkin juice.”)

After carefully removing some of the liquid from the tray and taking it out of the oven, I cut it in half to help it cool more quickly.  Once cool[er], I scooped out the seeds, then separated the flesh from the skin.  After processing with some of the escaped juice, it yielded over fifteen cups of gorgeous puree.

Over the next two days we transformed the puree into these delicious treats:

  1. Pumpkin custard (recipe below)
  2. Pumpkin bread — based on this recipe, which I love because of the large amount of pumpkin in each loaf, almost two cups per loaf, versus one cup in most recipes
  3. GRAINola bars — my first time with this recipe; I’ll be making more of these
  4. Pumpkin oatmeal — stir 1/3 c. pumpkin puree along with some pumpkin pie spice and walnuts into regular oatmeal
  5. Roasted pumpkin seeds — okay, so this last one didn’t involve the puree, but the seeds are arguably one of the healthiest parts of the whole deal; washed, patted dry on dishtowel, tossed with a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of sea salt, than roasted at 325° F until crunchy

Pumpkin Custard

Recipe by Matthew
Adapted from a family recipe

Serves 4-6
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Ingredients
2 c. pumpkin puree
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 t. salt
2.5 T. flour
1/4 c. sugar (additional)
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. cream
3 eggs

Directions
Combine pumpkin, 1/4 c. sugar, and salt in pot, bring to a boil and cook for five minutes.  Add flour, the rest of the sugar, and spice and continue to cook, stirring frequently.

Once thickened, remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375° F and bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil.

Beat the eggs separately, and then beat in the milk and cream.  Add egg/milk/cream mixture to the pumpkin mixture, and mix until well-combined.

Arrange oven-safe ramekins or larger oven-safe glass containers in a roasting pan or a metal cake pan.  Pour custard into ramekins and place cake pan in oven.  Pour boiling water into the pan (around the ramekins) — the water should come slightly more than halfway up the outside of the ramekins.  Bake for about one hour (will depend on size of dish), or until set (knife inserted in middle should come out relatively clean.

Enjoy!

NOTE: Great warm; it will keep in the refrigerator for several days.  We typically triple this recipe, which makes  A LOT of custard.  A double recipe might be a better place to start.

Making crackers

As you may have noticed, we make many items from scratch and buy very little processed food.  However, crackers are an exception to that general practice.  We don’t eat all that many crackers, probably in part because they ARE processed and involve a good bit of packaging waste.

Once a baby entered the picture, crackers went on my mental “things I could make from scratch, but since I’m not in the habit of doing so, and life is now crazy, I probably never will” list, along with making soy milk and a few other things that I don’t remember right now.

A few weeks ago, Matthew printed out this recipe for homemade crackers.  I set it aside, assuming nothing would come of it.  Shortly thereafter, he took a turn staying home with our sick little Sir.

When I returned home from work that day, I found a fresh batch of homemade crackers.  (In case making crackers and prepping dinner while caring for a sick baby weren’t enough, he also made homemade croissants, ensuring that I would look like a complete slacker on my days home with the baby — just sayin’).

Anyhow, I tried my hand at the crackers over the weekend, giving them a multigrain twist, and making a double batch, because we noticed that a single batch disappeared very quickly.  Continue reading “Making crackers”

Broiled tofu

AKA, “you should write a blog post about this” tofu.  Quite high praise from my somewhat tofu-skeptical husband.

Though I somewhat enjoy uncooked, unseasoned tofu, Matthew won’t go near the stuff.  Many of my more basic, chop it up and add it to a dish while cooking methods also fail to meet his taste and texture standards.

We enjoyed the results of the preparation method I mentioned in this post, but it’s actually a bit labor intensive, and it involves either a good bit of oil to make it work in the cast iron or using the nasty non-stick skillet.  Enter the marinate and broil method.

It requires just a little planning, because marinating the tofu for at least 12 hours yields the best results.  You can also let it sit in the marinade for a few days, refrigerated of course — prep it on the weekend for a weeknight meal.

Broiled Tofu
Recipe by Melissa

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu (preferably organic)
2-3 T. soy sauce
1-2 T. ginger spread*
1/2 t . onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder

Directions

Drain tofu and slice  into six pieces.  Place tofu slices on clean dish towel, top with a cookie tray, and use hand weights, cans, etc. to weigh down the tray.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes to remove excess moisture.  This will help the tofu absorb more of the yummy marinade.**

While the tofu is “weighting,” mix the soy sauce, ginger spread, onion powder, and garlic powder in a shallow container.  I just eyeball the amounts.  More soy sauce = saltier.  More ginger spread = sweeter. [Sometimes I add a bit of water (1-2 T.?) to help stretch out the marinade without adding too much sodium.]

Dip each side of the pressed tofu slices in the marinade, then arrange in single layer in the container and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.  More marinating time = more flavor!

When ready to cook, brush a light coat of olive oil on both sides of each slab and arrange on the broiler pan.  I prefer to broil my tofu in our toaster oven, which is just the right size for one block (6 slices) of tofu.  This uses less energy than firing up the oven’s broiler, but if you don’t have a toaster oven, that’s fine.

Broil 6-10 minutes per side.  Actual time will depend on your broiler — keep an eye on it after the shorter amount of time so it doesn’t burn.

Serving options

  1. After broiling, let cool slightly, then chop into bite sized pieces and add to any one-dish meal (e.g., stir fry, big pan of sauteed veggies, etc.) at the end of cooking.
  2. Serve whole slice of tofu (like you would a piece of meat) on top a bed of grains with some nice veggies sides.
  3. Chop into bite-sized pieces and use as a salad topper.
  4. Other ideas???

The marinate and broil method should also work with just about any marinade.  What are your favorite marinade ingredients?

*Ginger spread: I first encountered this ginger spread as a gift from my sister while I was pregnant.  Using it as a spread on toast was not appealing, but I quickly discovered that it was a great way to add flavor and a touch of sweetness to marinades, salad dressings, and stir fries.  You could also buy fresh ginger and make your own spread, or, for the sake of this recipe, add some finely grated fresh ginger (a citrus zester works well for this) along with your sweetener of choice.

Baked oatmeal

Growing up, I always looked forward to mornings when my dad made baked oatmeal.  The summer after my junior year in college, I found myself in New Jersey, far, far away from my family and friends in the Midwest, working as a live-in nanny, and craving this taste of home.

I scoured the internet for recipes that resembled the baked oatmeal I knew and loved, something simple yet delicious.  I experimented with one or two recipes, that, while okay, were not what I remembered.  Not what I wanted.  (I’m not sure why I didn’t just call my parents and ask for the recipe — that would have been too logical.)

My husband, who, try as he might, can’t stomach a bowl of traditional oatmeal, likes this.  Something about the dryness and texture of it being baked, versus the gooey-ness of regular oatmeal.  The added fat and sugar don’t hurt, either 😉

This makes a nice change to my normal big bowl of oatmeal, and it’s a fun treat for a weekend morning.  Leftovers reheat well.

Baked Oatmeal
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/3 c. butter/margarine
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. milk (soy, dairy, whatever you use)
3 t. baking powder
3 c. quick oats
Cinnamon and brown sugar
Sliced apples, or dried apples or cranberries*

Directions
Grease a 9 inch pie pan and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Combine quick oats and baking powder in a small bowl.  Cream butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs, followed by the milk.  Spread the mixture in the prepared pan.

Cut an apple or two into thin slices (peeling first is optional — my dad always peeled the apples, but leaving them on is faster and more nutritious).  Arrange the apple slices on top of the oat mixture.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, testing the center  — it should not be gooey.  Serve hot, with milk poured over the top, if you like.

*If you want a shortcut, or just don’t have fresh apples, you can sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar directly on top of the oat mixture and bake it sans apple slices.  Serve with dried apples or cranberries.

Lotion potion

About this time last year, I whipped up my first batch of body butter, hoping to combat dry, itchy winter skin as well as stretch marks* on my growing body.  Looking back, I realize I only wrote about my intention to make homemade body butter, not the results.

The rest of the story . . .
After failing to find local sources for cocoa butter and shea butter, I went online and purchased those two items, as well as jojoba oil and sweet almond oil.  For my first recipe, I basically followed the “body butter cream” recipe here.

The results were pretty good, and once I used my first batch, I made a second batch, with a few tweaks [that I failed to record].  The second batch lasted until The Dude came along, after which point I didn’t have time to apply body butter, much less make it.

With the relatively mild temps so far, my skin is faring well this winter (knock on wood!), but I still have my dry spots.  After lots of good intentions, and much perusing recipes, I finally got around to trying my hand at lotion.Continue reading “Lotion potion”