Pumpkin and Apple Mac 'n' Cheese

Mmm, pumpkin and apple, classic fall foods, classic combination. And cheese just makes everything better! As always, the amounts below are estimates, since I don't measure while I cook. I just add it until it's the way I want it.

Blue Pumpkin, yum!

 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup macaroni
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 honeycrisp apples (or another sweet apple), cored and diced
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tbs cinnamon
3 cups roasted pumpkin, mashed (I used the leftover half of the Blue Pumpkin)
1 cup Jarlsburg cheese (or any swiss), grated
1/3 cup bread crumbs
a dash of heavy whipping cream (or yogurt)
oil for the pan
salt & pepper to taste

Set water with a pinch of salt to boil for the macaroni. Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When hot, throw in the onions for about 7 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic and cook one minute more. Then add apples and 1/2 the spices. Cook about 3 minutes, then add pumpkin, with more salt and pepper and remaining spices. Stir to combine. Then add cooked macaroni, cheese, bread crumbs, and heavy whipping cream. Reserve some cheese and bread crumbs for topping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Scoop into a greased pan and sprinkle with remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Cook about 12 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and the edges are browned. And your done!

Pumpkin Apple Mac 'n' Cheese: Done!

 

 

It turned out a little more like a casserole than like mac 'n' cheese, but you could always use less pumpkin and more macaroni, if that's how you like it. Enjoy!

Grilled Pumpkin

OK, so I lied. I know I said I would be writing about Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese, and I will, but my husband really wanted to grill, so I thought we could experiment with a new method of cooking and a new variety of pumpkin...

Grilling and pumpkins don't often go together, since the former is associated with warm weather and the latter with cold. However, here in San Antonio, it is not uncommon to have pleasant weather in November.

Ingredients
Blue Pumpkin (or any kind really)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Butter

Prep was easy, I just cut a blue pumpkin in half and sliced it into about 3/4 inch slices. I love the bright orange of the flesh and how it contrasts so beautifully with the blue skin!

Anyways, then I just sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and set the directly on the grill grate. Cook for about 10 minutes on each side with the cover on. Serve with butter and salt. And your done! Super easy!

The blue pumpkin tastes very much like an acorn squash but a little heartier, if that's possible. It yields quite a lot of flesh. We only needed one half the pumpkin to feed us, and even then there were leftovers (it's quite filling). This variety also has a ton of tightly packed seeds, which I will experiment with at a later date.

Next up: the thing I actually promised in my last post, pumpkin mac 'n' cheese.

Pumpkinfest Begins

Ah, the signs of fall: moderate winds, rain, crsip & cool air, dropping temperatures...well at least the last couple days anyways! Hurricane Sandy seems to have sent a low pressure zone our way, and I sure am glad. I love fall! But I really missed it last year, my first fall in San Antonio. This year, fall is really starting to feel like fall. And what comes with fall? Great fall foods: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, a new variety of squashes, carrots, beets, apples, and pumpkin. And also different spices: goodbye basil and hello curry, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And my favorite of all these new flavors is pumpkin. Yes, pumpkin. And not just pumpkin pie, which is a holiday fave of mine, but also soups and casseroles and stir-frys and italian food and tex-mex.

Fairytale & Cinderella Pumpkins

I fell in love with fresh pumpkin in Fall of 2008. I remember it as if it were yesterday: my husband (then still my boyfriend) and I ventured into central Virginia in search of a fall festival experience. We visited Belvedere Plantation, aa farm that seemed to exist solely for the purpose of the fall festival. There cute farm animals, pig races, pies for sale, hay rides, pumpkin chunkin', the pumpkin patch, and a varied pumpkin marketplace. We chose our jack-o-lanterns from the patch (an experience I miss here in San Antonio) and headed into the marketplace. There were crazy pumpkin varieties I had never seen before, such as Red Warty Things and Cinderella pumpkins. Under each variety was a tag describeing what the pumpkins can be used for. Under both the aforementioned pumpkins, the signs said, "great for cooking." "Cook a pumpkin?" I thought. I couldn't believe that anyone did such a thing. But I was curious and picked up a red warty thing and a cinderella pumpkin. That Thanksgiving, I cooked my first pumpkin pie from scratch, and it was the best I'd ever had. From then on, I've been hooked, cooking fresh pumpkin dishes throughout the fall, starting just before Halloween until I run out. This season, I'll be sharing my pumpkin adventures.

Since this weekend has really made me feel the fall spirit, I decided to cut open my first pumpkin. The HEB at Lincoln Heights and the commissary at Ft. Sam have a good variety of pumpkins, including the varieties mentioned above, so there are plenty of kinds of pumpkins to experiment with. I'll be sharing my experiments and recipes from now until the pumpkin is all used up. First of all, let's talk about how to prepare it.

When I first made fresh pumpkin, I steamed it. It worked just fine for cooking the pumpkin, but it also made it a little watery. I much prefer to roast it.

ROASTED PUMPKIN

One Pumpkin (here I used a Cinderella), cut in half
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Freshly cut!

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle pumpkin halves with olive oil, about 1 tbs each. Dash with salt & pepper. Cook for 40 minutes or until the flesh begins to separate from the skin and you can easily stick a fork all the way in.

That's it! You're done!

SPICY PUMPKIN SOUP
Inspired by a recipe for vegetable jambalaya in Vegetarian Times, I decided to give a typical pumpkin soup a little heat.

Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium parsnip (or more if you really like the flavor), diced
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
About 3 cups of pumpkin flesh
Cayenne Pepper
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
2 cups vegetable broth (or as much as you need to get the consistency you like)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Heavy whipping cream

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large sauce pot on medium heat. Cook onions (seasoned with salt & pepper) about 8 minutes or until almost cooked. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add parsnip and celery. Season with salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and a dash of chili powder. Cook until soft. Add pumpkin (I mentioned 3 cups above, but I don't really measure when I cook. Just make sure that there is much more pumpkin than the other vegetables. I may have put in four cups or so.). Season with a large dash of cinnamon, salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and a dash of chili powder. The pumpkin is already cooked, so just cook long enough to heat through. Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to roughly blend the vegetables. Add broth and blend until smooth. Put back on heat to heat through. Serve with a dash of heavy whipping cream.

Make sure you go easy on the cayenne. I accidently made this soup burn-my face-off-hot. Of course, my husband thought it only had a hint of heat. So I just added a little more cream to take the edge off.

Next up: Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese (or pumpkin & apple cookies, depending on how I feel)

Max's Wine Dive

The first time I went to Max's Wine Dive, I had high expectations. Good reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. However, I was underwhelmed. It was winter (January if I remember correctly), so I ordered off the seasonal menu: sweet potato gnocchi with spinach and winter vegetables (parsnips maybe? It's been a while). It sounded great, and I couldn't wait to eat it, but the dish was heavily sauced and the gnocchi was mushy and runny, even. Based on this experience, I completely wrote it off. But my husband on the other hand thought his dinner was fantastic, so he sneakily bought 3 groupons for Max's, obligating me to return.

His tactic worked, and we went back a few months later. This time, I ordered the veggie burger from the summer menu (the only vegetarian entree listed). When the burger came out, I was expecting the worst, but it was fantastic! It had great texture and was filling, spicy, and a little sweet. The burger is also incredibly large, and I surprised myself by eating the whole thing! It was just that good. In fact, I returned again just to eat the veggie burger (and use up another groupon).

On our fourth visit, I decided to try something else and ordered the snapper (from the summer menu again). Everything from the green beans to the potatoes to the slaw went well together. The beans and the slaw kept everything light and crisp. Yum! We also had the best service on this trip. Previously, the service was a little awkward (from green servers maybe?). This time around our server was knowledgeable about the wine and helped us make a dessert wine selection, which is not something we typically do, so the assistance was much needed, and the late-harvest malbec she suggested went wonderfully with the brownie. The brownie itself, however, was a let down. It wasn't bad, just boring.

Speaking of wine (this is a wine bar after all), the selection of bottles is comprehensive, but I prefer to order by the glass, since more often than not, everyone at the table is looking for something different. The by-the-glass list hits all the highlights, but isn't terribly varied. Fortunately though, they do have an enomatic with additional selections that are less static than the wines on the menu.

Overall, the place is hit or miss, even though most of my dining experiences have been positive, because I've been ordering off the seasonal menus. The "Classics" menu doesn't have anything for vegetarians (except tomato soup and grilled cheese and a few appetizers), so don't fall for their dressed-up comfort food gimick; the hits tend to be on the seasonal menu.

Fill 'Er Up!

Station Cafe (formerly the Filling Station)

I just ate the most delicious vegan patty for lunch! Definitely NOT a boring sprouts stuck between two pieces of bread because I can't fathom what vegetarians really eat type sandwich. And it was so refreshing to find a casual cafe for lunch that offers creative vegetarian options. Notice that "s"? Yes, there were several options from which I could choose!

The patty was made with brown rice, lentils, and beets, with a few capers for added salt. It came out hot and fresh and was hardy and flavorful. It had a spicy aroma (sage or thyme maybe?). The bun was fresh and light, allowing the flavors of the burger to stand out. They dress the burger with lettuce, tomato, mayo (vegan), and mustard. Next time, I would skip the tomato (didn't mix well with the beet) and ask them to go light on the mustard.

The cafe is downtown in the King William district on S St. Mary's, and it is convenient to many downtown attractions, so I'll definitely head back next time I'm being a tourist.

Noms!

Down to Earth

I watched the documentary Ingredients yesterday (while eating mac 'n' cheese from a box). If eating the mac 'n' cheese didn't make me feel gross in and of itself, hearing people talk about eating fresh, local produce to improve health and connection to our food made it worse. Suddenly my food tasted bland and salty (I also noticed myself feeling weighed down later in the day). Anyways, I normally feed good about my food choices, and I love that most of my groceries come from the produce section. My food clean, flavorful, and I know exactly what's in it.

However, two things that the documentary brought up got me thinking about what I eat and where it comes from. First, it mentioned how by turning food into a commodity has led farmers to grow primarily those crops, and so we have had an incredible loss in bio diversity. This hit home when I reflected on my experiences shopping for tomatoes at the grocery store. I've begun making my own sauces at home instead of buying them at the store, in order to increase flavor and to avoid BPA, high sugar levels, and preservatives. But I've been frustrated, especially now in the summertime, because I can't find tomatoes that are uniquely flavorful. They all seem to taste the same. Even the tomatoes at the farmers' market appear to be just the same varieties, just locally grown. The only tomatoes I've had any luck with are grape and cherry tomatoes. Why are they all the same varieties over and over again? Where can those of us desiring greater flavor go?

I think the decrease in biodiversity and variety has also been a contributing factor to the disconnect between people and their food. Our produce looks just like the boxes of processed food on the shelf: uniform and predictable. But that isn't what plants are really like. They grow to different sizes and shapes and colors. And there are so many more varieties than what is readily available. It's easy to forget this because we don't see where our food comes from. It gets shipped or/and trucked thousands of miles. This is why I like farmers' markets: my food looks like food, and I can tell that it came from the earth, and I can meet the people who grew it.

Well today (and now after rambling, I get to what I really wanted to write about), I had a wonderful chance to connect with the earth, when I helped harvest Pinot Grigio for Singing Water Vineyards in Comfort, TX. It's been a long time since I've worked outside and got all sweaty and dirty; it felt great! And beyond that, it's feels good to get involved of the creation of something that comes from the earth and to be reminded of from where wine comes. After all, the creation of wine is a natural process that humans simply facilitate and encourage to go in diffferent directions.

We started at 7am, so I had to leave home before 6am, and I got some great early morning shots in the vineyard before it got too hot (and some crappy pictures while I was driving, but come one, I couldn't exactly frame the shot or even look at the display while operating a vehicle!).

Hill Country Sunrise

Fog in the "Valley"

A Full Bucket and Shears

Bunches of Grapes

Looking East Across the Pinto Grigio Vines

A Partially Full Bin

Since this was my first time, I got a brief tutorial: find out where the bunch is attached to the vine and cut it. It sounds simple, but there was a little learning curve. Even though some of the bunches looked just like you would expect and hung off the vine, others were twisted and wrapped around the vines, leaves, and other bunches. Sometimes I would think I was clipping one big bunch, only to find that it was five smaller bunches all grown together and connected to the vine at different points. It was nearly impossible to clip many of the bunches without squishing or cutting a few grapes. I also ended up encountering many a spider living amongst the grapes, no doubt taking advantage of the bugs that come to sample the sweet fruit.

Even though I had to get up at 5:30 this morning and drive for an hour in the dark, I thoroughly enjoyed getting in touch with the source of what's in my glass. And I can't wait to try the 2012 Pinot Grigio when it's released!

After we finished up around 11:30am, I headed into town for lunch at High's Cafe. I've eaten there before, so I knew I could get a solid veggie friendly meal. Instead of having the veggie sandwich (which is delicious! but not vegan friendly), I opted for one of the daily specials: fresh tomato salad, yum! The tomatoes were tangy and flavorful and were accompanied by mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar (aka caprese salad). It was a little heavy on the vinegar, but the remaining ingredients were simple and refreshing after working in the field. And of course, I couldn't resist a delicious treat for dessert. I ordered a "Magic Bar," comprised of chocolate, pecans, and coconut. The chocolate was rich; the pecans were sprinkled with sugar; the coconut was toasted on top. Noms!

All in all it was a great day getting down to earth. It has inspired me to better connect with my produce and to continue honoring veggies in my dishes. Have a great weekend!

Rainbow Vegetarian Chili

In the spirit of Pride Week last week, I thought I would make some of my Rainbow Chili. The variety of veggies is what gives the chili its colors and its variety of vitamins! It takes a little time, but it's super simple, and you can leave it on the stove while it simmers. It makes about 8 servings, so unless your family members are garbage disposals like my husband or you have a large family, this dish makes lots of leftovers.


Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3-4 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
cumin, to taste
oregano, to taste
3/4 cup faux ground beef
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can chipotle tomatoes
1 cup dry or off-dry white wine or rose (or veggie stock or water)
2/3 cup dry pinto beans
2/3 cup dry kidney beans
2/3 cup dry black beans
salt and pepper, to taste

Prep beans: Rinse beans and check for debree (I once found a little pebble in some lentils, so don't skip this step!) Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil and boil beans for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Bring another 6-8 cups of water to a boil and cook beans for 1 1/2-2 hours (check after the first hour, sometimes the beans don't even need a full 1 1/2 hours). Or just get canned beans and rinse.

Meanwhile, prep veggies and start cooking the chili: Heat a large saucepot with about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Throw in onions and carrots and season with dashes or cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add garlic after about one minute. Cook five minutes and add peppers. Add a little more seasoning. Cook about another five minutes or until onions are translucent, then add faux beef and spices. I use frozen, so I cook until it is thawed. If you prefer refrigerated, then just warm it through.

The next couple steps are my favorite, just through ingredients in the pot and leave it alone for awhile. First add both cans of tomatoes (or make your own for an even healthier version), wine, and spices. Let simmer for about 25 minutes.

Then add beans and spices and let simmer for 15-20 minutes (to let all the flavors seep in).

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and put the ROY back in your ROY G BIV!

Note: These are my tried and true veggies, but sometimes I throw in other ingredients. Corn is another good one and so is celery. To round out the spectrum, you could try adding eggplant.