Zesty, Salty and Sweet Three Way Pumpkin Seeds

Tis the season for yummy pumpkin seeds. I'm not sure about you, but I like a bit of variety in life. So I suppose why should my pumpkin seeds be any different.

I've tried a few combinations over the years, but this year I really think I hit the mark!
One traditional variety just with salt, one deliciously smoky with the aid of Mexican chili powder, and the last sweet goodness with the aid of local honey and cinnamon.

Zesty Salty and Sweet Three Way Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

Approximately 3 cups fresh pumpkin seeds;  washed clean
3TB olive oil
1 TB + 2 tsp sea salt
1 TB chili powder
1 TB garlic salt
1 TB cinnamon
1 TB local honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250. Separate cleaned pumpkin seeds onto three separate cookie sheets.
On sheet one drizzle 1 TB olive oil over pumpkin seeds and sprinkle with salt. Combine and set aside.
On sheet two drizzle 1 TB olive oil over pumpkin seeds.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, 1TB chili powder and 1 TB garlic powder.  Mix to combine and set aside.
On sheet three drizzle 1 TB olive oil over pumpkin seeds.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt,      1 TB cinnamon and 1 TB honey. Mix to combine and set aside.

Tip: make sure to pick cookie sheets you can fit into the oven all at once.  Two smaller sheets on one rack, and a larger one on the other rack works very well. Pumpkin seeds should be smoothed out over sheet in a flat layer.

Bake for approximately 2 hrs. Check and stir every half hour.  You will start notice the seeds seeming lighter as you stir them.  At the 1 1/2 mark take a seed out, and taste test it for doneness. At this point you can decide is they need the other half hour or not. The seeds are being dried out in the oven so you don't have to worry about burning.
The honey cinnamon seeds may still appear sticky. If so once the other two trays of seeds are done,  and have been removed turn the oven up to 350. Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes.  The honey will quickly caramelize.
Allow to cool before eating and storing. The honey cinnamon seeds will need to be broken apart with your hands, but trust me they are well worth it!
Enjoy:)

Italian Egg Toast

Easy and delicious...just the way I like it! This is a wonderful breakfast dish my mom and I first saw years ago when watching Moonstruck. There's a breakfast scene I believe towards the end of the movie where the mom serves this up. As with many Italian dishes fresh, beautiful and simplistic! A dish that just nourishes your soul.

I was lucky enough to get some fresh Italian bread from my mom after she visited a great local market we have been going to since I was a child, Villa Bakery in Garden City, MI. That along with some farm fresh eggs on got from a friend yesterday this dish was just calling to me to be made.

Italian Egg Toast

Ingredients:
2 eggs (local farm fresh if you can get them!)
2 slices fresh Italian bread
2 TB butter
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Cut a medium sized hole out of the center of both slices of bread. Heat up skillet to medium high heat.  Add 1 TB butter and add slices of bread. Crack 1 egg in the center of each slice of bread. Season with salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness. I cook them until the whites set. Flip over and add the other 1 TB butter and a bit more salt and pepper.
If there is room in the skillet put those cut out pieces of bread in there and toast up as well. They are a helpful addition in eating up all that eggalishious goodness.
Enjoy!

 

Roasted Chayote with Caramelized Garlic

Chayote...delish, sweet and very versatile. Upon my first bite I just feel in love!

I was first introduced to this amazing vegetable several years back thanks to chef Rick Bayless's cookbook Mexican Everyday.
The chayote recipe he featured was a cold salad with fresh tomatoes and a lovely roasted garlic dressing.
I still love making this one especially in the summer with a nice cucumber martini on the side!

The recipe I will be featuring here is a wonderful roasted chayote with Caramelized garlic.  I've made this one on several occasions, and it always comes together quickly and tastes amazing.

A few tips on preparation.  Wear rubber gloves. Either the medical variety or anything else you can get your hands on. Chayote has a sticky film on it that once it's peeled that will dry, and stay on your hands for several days. Not dangerous just bothersome, lol.

Another tip about cooking Mexican food. Only season with salt not pepper. Trading dishes do not use pepper, and you will start to notice the pepper more in other dishes once you take it out of your Mexican food.

Just another way to make your tasting palate more complex to identify mouth watering flavors!

Roasted Chayote with Caramelized Garlic

Ingredients:

6 chayote
4 cloves garlic; sliced thin
1 TB olive oil

Directions:

Cut chayote in half. Peel each half. Slice in half again, and then cut each of those in half twice more to make wedges. Repeat with all chayote.
Place chayote on large cookie sheet.  Top with garlic slices. Drizzle with olive oil.
Season only with salt.

Combine. Roast in oven at 500 for 30min, stirring twice.
When chayote are roasted to golden goodness remove from oven, and serve.
Enjoy!

Guest Blogger Feature Article

I'm very excited to be featured as a guest blogger this month on this fantastic blog; Mom Among Chaos.
My recipe for Hummus Chicken with Roasted Green Beans is there for you to enjoy. It's a new creation, but already one of my kids favorites!
When your done reading the article check out the rest of her blog.
It's chalk full of fantastic information for every mom!


www.momamongchaos.blogspot.com

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Angela's Frankenmuth Noddles

These noddles take me back to my childhood!  Easter Sunday's starting with church then a trek to Frankenmuth; a charming local German/Christmas town in Frankenmuth, MI.  In those days, Easter dinner brought together not only my immediate family, but at least two of my mother's five siblings with their families as well as my grandparents, and two of my grandfather's brother's with their families!  Several tables needed to be put together to accommodate all of us.  But isn't that the stuff of good family and food memories.

Amongst the too many to count plates of food were the golden chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, luscious gravy, cole slaw (oh I could go on and on, but I am starting to salivate). And then there were the noddles. Indescribable by their very nature.  This amazing coating on them that in my childhood I simply dived into, but as an adult have spent many hours discussing with my mom trying to figure out just what they put on there darn noddles.  Food frustration.  Only a foodie can appreciate this.  It is very frustrating in the most wonderful way:)
Well a few years ago I stumbled upon this recipe, and it has been a favorite since. I like to make it for random non occasions, but always for our yearly Christmas Day dinner. It's one of those great make ahead dishes that reheats perfectly the next day.

Angela's Frankenmuth Style Noddles

Ingredient's: 

6 cups water
1 TB Chesapeake bay seasoning
1 17oz pkg German spaetzle noddles or another medium sized noddle
3 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 pkg saltine crackers; finely crushed

Add water and Chesapeake bay seasoning to your pot. Bring to a boil.  Add noddles and cook to desired consistency.  I prefer mine al dente.  While noddles are cooking crush crackers. Melt all 1 stick of butter, and incorporate with crushed crackers.
Drain noddles. Add the other 2 sticks of butter noddles. Plate noddles in large serving dish, and sprinkle with cracker topping.
Hope these delicious noddles become a family favorite in your house!

Wheat Berry Cranberry Salad

Wheat berries are a new grain for me, and I am simply loving them!  My mom and I found them a small organic store in Remus, MI a few months ago.  I had been reading a lot of articles about different grain options.  For myself as the home chef to my family I really do like to try to get everyone to try new things.  My family is my test group I guess, and mostly good sports about it.
One of the big things I found out about this particular grain as well as many of the grains out there that are not traditionally stocked at your local supermarket is that they are full of fiber.  Unlike many of the grains the US has grown up on; many of the organic grains have a ton of health benefits we have been missing out on.

One of the many things I enjoy about wheat berries it that they are very hearty once cooked.  I actually feel full after I eat them which is what we all want after we eat isn't it?  To felt full, but not over stuffed in a nauseating sort of way.
Nutritious, heart healthy and delicious; wheat berries come together in this recipe with tart cranberries and pine nuts to make a salad perfect for a side dish or main course served with salmon or chicken on top.

Wheat Berry Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat berries
3 cups water
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper
3 TB pine nuts; toasted
1/2 cup mandarin oranges
5oz dried cranberries
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1 TB olive oil

To cook wheat berries start with a medium sauce pan set on high heat with no oil or butter added. Add 1 cup wheat berries to this dry pan. Toast berries; stirring every few seconds for 1 minute. Add 3 cups cold water.  The water will sputter and boil up a bit immediately.  To this add turmeric, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Cover and let simmer on medium for approx. 45min or until all water is absorbed. While berries are cooking in a medium bowl mix together remaining ingredients.  Once your wheat berries are cooked add to cranberry mixture. Mix and refrigerate for 4 hours or until cool.

Fried Apples Pancake Breakfast; Pancakes topped with Roasted Apples and Fresh Blackberry Compo

Good morning friends!

This beautiful fall weather calls for apples in every incarnation!
This morning I woke up thinking fried apples...mmmm!  Literally, the minute I opened my eyes that food thought just came right into my mind:)  My version of fried apples is a simple dish that takes very little to come together, but smells and tastes wonderful!  My kitchen was filled with cinnamon goodness.
I was already making pancakes with this so I decided to add the apple chips I had put on last night's salad as well as some blackberry compo I had made the other day as an ice cream topping that heats up quickly to use with a variety of dishes.
A beautiful Sunday morning breakfast just seems to make the day start out better:) Hope you enjoy!


Fried Apples

Ingredients: 

4 whole apples; washed, cored and sliced into wedges
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water

Incorporate all ingredients in a large skillet. Cook on medium heat with lid on for 20-30 minutes.  Check here and there to make sure you still have liquid.  When most liquid is absorbed add 1 TB of olive oil, turn up the heat and give a quick fry.

Pancake/Ice Cream toppings:

Apple Chips

Ingredients:

1 apple; sliced very thinly using a knife or mandolin
2 TB olive oil

Using a cookie sheet drizzle 1 TB olive oil on. Spread apple along sheet with very little overlap. Drizzle with the remaining oil. Bake at 400 till crispy.

Blackberry Compo

Ingredients:

2 cups blackberries or your favorite fruit
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until half of the liquid is reduced. Turn off the heat, and allow to cool a bit for liquid to thicken up. About 10min. This is also a yummy ice cream topping.

Lavender Lemon Martini

Martini's have become such a fun and versatile cocktail. I love being able to play around with different flavor combinations to find something that suits every palate.

One of my new interests are essential oils.  I've been thinking of trying them holistically for some time now.  I will have to say though. One of the things that I find exciting about them is that many can be ingested, therefore, used in recipes.  It just opens up a entire other world to the possibility of fun uses!

Tonight I concocted this subtle and sophisticated rendition of the classic martini. The lavender has such a interesting and complex flavor your guest will be surprised when they ask what your secret ingredient is. A must have at your next dinner party or weekend brunch!

I have also been using the lavender simple syrup with my tea in the evening, and even a bit with my water at bedtime.

Lavender Lemon Martini

 

Make lavender simple syrup by combining 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 droplet of Young Living Lavender oil. Simmer on medium until sugar is dissolved.  About 15 minutes.

In the meantime coat the rim of your martini glass with simple syrup. Dip onto a plate that has been covered in 1/4 cup sugar.  Coat rim of glass.

Using a cocktail shaker add 1 cup ice 3oz vanilla vodka, 3oz lavender simple syrup and 1oz sky vodka.

Shake until ice cold, and carefully pour into martini glass.

Enjoy this is a nice one!

Beef Skewers with Cabbage and Bacon

It's that time again; dinner time.  That time yet again to decide what is on tonight's menu.  I happen to have an extremely picky toddler in my house.  A few months ago, purely by accident, I happened to find out that he enjoys food on a stick. Yes very cave man of him, lol.  He normally restricts his food choices to peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs and chicken nuggets.  Isn't that lovely!  So you can imagine my absolute delight when he picked up a skewer with Venison, and declared it delicious.  That was a mommy celebration moment.  I may have him eating the rest of my delights soon, but for today I will settle with this small victory.

I remembered those tasty appetizer meatballs you sometimes have a tailgate parties with chili sauce and grape jelly, and just improvised with a healthier version based on that. The dish in the saute pan to the left is cabbage and bacon with a slight twist, lemon zest.
 Lastly, basmati rice in the back right to serve with the meat. I also sliced up some cucumbers to add one more veggie with minimal effort.
Here's the recipes; hope you enjoy!

Beef  Skewers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs beef (any kind will do cut thinly against the grain)
Wooden Skewers soaked in water
1/2 cup organic ketchup
1/2 cup local preserves (I used cherry)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ketchup, preservers, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix to incorporate. Add sliced meat to this mixture. Using skewers weave meat through skewer. Set aside.
Heat skillet or medium sized saute pan to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot drizzle with 1 TB grape seed or canola oil. Place beef skewers on pan and cook on each side approx. 10min.

Cabbage and Bacon

Ingredients:

1/2 large cabbage or one small (sliced thin)
1/2lb bacon (cut into small pieces
1 lemon (zest only)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat large saute pan to medium heat. Add bacon; cook till crispy. Add cabbage. Drizzle 1TB olive oil on top. Add salt and pepper to taste; about 1/2 TB of each. Continue to stir throughout cooking process; I usually use tongs to rotate so I won't flip any cabbage out of the pan.
Cook for 30min. Last few minutes of cooking add your lemon zest. Incorporate into cabbage/bacon mixture. It will give a slight flavor boost that really brings this dish together.

ENJOY!