Pumpkin Bread!

I am in the fall mood! Fall is officially here. The leaves are changing colors and the smell of wood burning and pumpkin pie is in the air! One of my friends hosted a cookie decorating night the other evening and made some really cute pumpkin bread with a  fall cakelet bread mold from Crate and Barrel. I loved it so much I asked if I could borrow it today to make some of my own.  I also stopped by Crate and Barrel today to pick up a fall cookie pan that I thought would be great as molds for pumpkin bread as well.  Did I say I love fall??

I used a great pumpkin bread recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
• In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
• Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (30 mins for cakelets and 15 mins for cookie pan)

They came out great! I love pumpkin bread and cute molds. The pans were easy to use and hand washer friendly as well. I totally recommend getting these for the holidays. They are great for snacking and eye pleasing as well. Enjoy!

Cookie pan

 Fall Cakelet pan

Fall pumpkin cookie bread

Manicotti blues....

Two weeks ago I had the urge to make lasagna.  I bought some ricotta cheese from the store along with some fresh button mushrooms to make a vegetarian lasagna.  Where is the lasagna noodle you are thinking? Well, I thought that I had some stashed away in my pantry to be used for a special day, but turns out when I went to look, lo and behold they were manicotti noodles! Ok, no big deal, just a change in plans.  I can make stuffed manicotti, same ingredients just different technique and look.

The ingredients!

I combined16oz of ricotta cheese with a vegetable mixture of sauteed sliced mushrooms, onions, and spinach, and added extra shredded mozzarella to that for extra cheesiness and then stuffed those manicotti noodles.

Cheesy Stuffed Manicotti
- 1 package of manicotti noodles cooked
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
- 1 16 oz container of ricotta cheese
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 package of spinach
- 1 container of sliced mushrooms
- 1 onion diced

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cooked manicotti noodles as directed on the package, drain in colander carefully so that noodles do not break and set aside.
3. Saute onions, mushrooms, and spinach in a separate pan and let cool
4. Combine ricotta, mozzarella, and sauteed vegetables together
5. Stuff manicotti carefully as noodles are breakable.  
6. Spread about a cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and lay manicotti in rows.  Spread the rest of the spaghetti sauce on top of the dish and layer with extra mozzarella.
7. Place in oven and cook for about 30 minutes covered and leave the last 15 minutes uncovered 

Boiling manicotti

Getting stuffed

Layered in dish

Voila!

The manicotti did not come out as I expected.  The filling tasted too much of ricotta and not enough of the stringy salty cheesiness of mozzarella.  I would definitely add another cup of mozzarella to the filling and would have also added more sauce to the entire dish as it thickens and dries up as it bakes in the oven.  Overall a sad dish for me.  Lesson learned today, make sure I have all the ingredients I need in the pantry before I go to the store!

Italiano in 30 minutes

Gearing up for a 10k hilly run this Sunday, but I've been feeling a bit tired lately because of my evening shifts at work.  However, I do love the sunny weather Seattle's been having though, so all is well! I decided since I was feeling so tired, I probably should start eating some substantial carbohydrates this week.  After my run today I looked in my fridge and put together some things for pasta.

Italiano pasta from scratch
- box of pasta
- one can of diced tomatoes
- 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
- ground turkey
- fresh parsley
- one onion diced
- minced garlic
- dried basil & oregano
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- dash of white wine
- crushed red peppers

• Cook pasta al dente for 9-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add seasonings and let cook for a few minutes for flavors to infuse.  Push ingredients to the side and cook ground turkey in the same pan. 
• Pour diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in the pan and combine everything together.  Add salt and pepper to taste as well as the chopped parsley, and a dash of white wine.
• Mix pasta in with the sauce well and serve with a bit of shredded assiago cheese.

Ready to go!

Voila!

 

Simple and easy dinner.  The fresh parsley really adds to the dish.  I wish I had some fresh basil, but dried worked fine for tonight.  If I had some fresh mushrooms I would've added that in as well.  Bon appetit!

Summer nights ........ BBQ nights!

It's been a little over 3 weeks since we've moved into our new apartment and not once have all four of us been able to sit down and have dinner together.  I think it has been a combination of work schedules and other various things that have come up, but finally I have a weekday off soooo time to do some cooking!

Thinking about what to make took some time as I rolled around ideas last night and this morning.  I wanted to grill for sure because the day was nice and because we have an awesome gas grill in the courtyard of this complex.  A couple of days ago I was able to get a nice piece of pork shoulder, so my first dish was BBQ pulled pork made in the slow cooker.  Second dish was chicken shish kabobs marinated in ramano sauce.  Third dish, a light shrimp Cajun rice dish, fourth, grilled corn on the cob, fifth apple pie (not made by me but by Fred Meyers), and last and best of all, homemade mango sorbet!

It was a packed menu and took me most of the day to prepare.

Slow cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
 - about 2 lb of pork shoulder
- 1 12 ounce can of rootbeer
- 1 bottle of BBQ sauce ( I like Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle flavor)

• Wash pork and place in slow cooker with one can of rootbeer.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until pork falls apart when touched.
• Drain liquid and shred pork.  Pour BBQ sauce over pork and place back in slow cooker for another hour.

  Sweet Baby Rays!

BBQ pulled pork, YUM!

 Cajun Shrimp and Rice
- half to 1 lb of shrimp
- 1 Tbp butter
- 2 Tbp olive oil
- half lime 
- 3 cloves or more of minced garlic
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 plum tomatoes chopped
- 2 bunches of green onion chopped
- 2 cups of cooked white rice
- 3 Tbp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 chopped bell pepper
- half  a cup of mushrooms

• Marinate shrimp in lime juice, olive oil, some Cajun seasoning, and fresh salt and pepper for a couple of hours.
• Heat butter, olive oil, and garlic in skillet.  Add Cajun seasoning and shrimp and cook about a minute. 
• Add tomatoes and green onions then rice along with 1/4 cup of water.
• Stir in parsley towards the end.

 Cajun Shrimp Rice

Ramano Chicken Kabobs

- Chicken breasts in bite sized pieces

- Red bell pepper

- Mushrooms

- Caesar Ramano dressing

- salt and pepper

- skewers

• Marinade chicken in Ramano dressing for 3-4 hours
• Toss bell pepper and mushrooms in olive oil, pepper, and garlic salt
• Thread chicken and vegetables in alternating manner
• Grill on medium heat for about 20 minutes

Kabobs!

Grilling food!

Finally, time to enjoy!

Mango Sorbet
- 3 ripe mangos peeled and cubed
- 3/4 cup of simple syrup (sugar and water in equal parts heated up)
- 2 Tbp fresh lime juice

• Blend cubed mango with lime juice and simple syrup in a blender or food processor until it is a smooth puree.
• Place in ice cream maker.

Hello beautiful mangos!

Make sure you have ripe mangos!

Success!
  

Simple recipes, but just takes some time chopping, shredding, blending, and cooking, but all so worth it. We had a lovely dinner outside in the courtyard under an umbrella.  The weather was nice and cool and tasted even better outside! Can't wait for more summer days!

Happy Fourth of July! Quiche for Brunch Anyone?

We had our first get together at our new place this morning with an informal brunch for some friends.  My roommates and I put together a spread of food.  I made a quiche along with fried rice to accompany the taro pancakes, apple cake, and fruit smoothies that were served.  This quiche recipe has never failed me each time I've made it and I like it because I can add and adjust ingredients as needed.  It's fairly simple as far as the basic recipe which calls for eggs, cheese, and milk.

Crustless Quiche
- six eggs
- 2 cups of shredded cheese (any type you prefer)
- 4 strips of cooked bacon chopped
- 1/2-1 C of frozen spinach drained or 6 cups of fresh spinach cooked
- half a container of sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 an onion diced
- 1 roma tomato diced
- 2 stalks of green onion sliced
- 1/2 C milk
- salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees C.
• Saute onions and mushrooms and let cool.  Defrost frozen spinach and drain.
• In large bowl beat eggs.  Add milk, shredded cheese, salt and pepper to bowl and mix. 
• Combine well bacon and sauteed vegetables to the egg, cheese, and milk mixture.  
• Pour into a deep dish pie pan and place in oven to cook 35-40 minutes.  

All the ingredients waiting to be used

Finished product!

Quiche, fried rice, taro pancakes, apple cake

 Simple, delicious, and even nutritious! Everyone can make this quiche and its quick to put together as well .  The hardest part may be dicing the vegetables and you might strain a bicep beating those eggs but other then that, it is easy enough.  Happy Fourth of July!

Chicken Curry

Growing up, my Indonesian born dad would make my family this great chicken curry.  I have yet to be able to replicate it, but recently I was over at my cousin's house and she made a version of it in her crock pot.   It was delicious! Since this past week was busy, I thought I'd experiment and try making it as well in my crock pot.

Dad's Chicken Curry
- 4 pieces of chicken thigh
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1-1/2 Tbsp curry powder
- 3 potatoes cubed
- 4 carrots cut
- 1 onion diced
- 3 pieces of ginger
- 1 cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste

• Peel and cut potatoes, carrots, and onion.  Place to the side. 
• Wash chicken and out into bite size pieces.  Saute in pan for a browned edge.
• Mix coconut milk, chicken broth, curry powder, and salt and pepper together.
• Place vegetables in crock pot, along with ginger, and end with chicken on top.  Pour liquids over the top of chicken and mix everything together. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
• Turn on crock pot and let cook for 6-7 hours.

 Everything ready to go!

Turn it on and lets see how it turns out!

As I left for work, I thought that there was perhaps maybe too much liquid in the pot.  There was one can of the coconut milk plus an additional cup of chicken broth.  I was thinking there may not be enough saltiness to the dish as the only extra salt besides the broth was from when I had sprinkled the chicken before searing.  I came home and discovered that yes, there was too much liquid and the sauce did not thicken as much as I wanted and yes, more salt was needed.  It didn't taste bad, but it didn't taste like my dad's chicken curry.  Oh well, I tried.  I think this dish may be better to do on the stove top so that I can adjust according to taste.  You live and you learn and that's the beauty of cooking!

Beef Stew Night

I apologize, it's been awhile since I've posted a cooking post.  I've been forgetful or too tired to do a cook and blog, but that will change soon! I'm working the evening shift this week at work which means even though I can't enjoy dinner at home, I can still make dinner for the other girls with our handy dandy slow cooker! Last night, dinner was beef stew.  Not difficult at all, just a matter of chopping, peeling, searing, seasoning, and throwing into the pot!

Beef Stew in a Crock Pot
- 3 potatoes
- 4 carrots
- 1 onion in chunks
- 1lb of  cut up beef for stew
- flour for dredging of beef
- 1 can of stewed tomatoes
- beef stew seasoning packet
- beef broth (1 cup)
- a dash of worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- water

• Peel and cut into chunks potatoes, carrots, and onion.  Place on the side while you flour your beef and sear in pan.  Flouring allows the beef to thicken the stew while it is cooking in the slow cooker and searing gives the beef a nice crust.  
• Throw in all of your vegetables, the meat, beef broth, seasonings, worcestershire sauce, and extra water if there looks to not be enough liquid and stir so that everything is well mixed.
• Turn slow cooker on to high setting and let cook for 6-7 hours or until meat is tender. 

Everything ready to go!

Turn on the the cooker and let it go!

Yummy!

Easy enough to make and very filling.  You can adjust the amount of vegetables and meat you use, but then also adjust so that you have enough liquid in the slow cooker.  Burning can happen if there is not enough, but that should not be a problem with all the vegetables producing some amount of moisture as well.  The beef was tender and the carrots and potatoes as well.  I love how the slow cooker can make meld all the flavors of the seasonings together and create a delicious meal. More to come, bon appetit!

Fruit Tart

My first attempt at a fruit tart with my brand new tart pan! I'm also trying out a new recipe that I found off of allrecipes.  It had fantastic ratings and I'm hoping those ratings ring true when the taste test comes tonight.

White Chocolate Fruit Tart
Crust
- 3/4 c butter softened
-1/2 c powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 c of flour
Filling
- 1 10 oz pack of white chocolate chips melted
- 1/4 c whipping cream
- 1 8 oz pack of cream cheese
- fresh berries (raspberries,  blackberries)
- 1 sliced kiwi
- canned mandarin oranges with juice
Glaze
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice 

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour; mix well. Press into an ungreased 11-in. tart pan with removable bottom or 12-in. pizza pan with sides. Bake at 300 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack

For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat melted chips and cream. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. Spread over crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain mandarin oranges, reserving 1/2 cup juice; set juice aside. Arrange the berries, oranges, and kiwi over filling.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice and reserved mandarin juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool; brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.  

Ingredients for the filling 

Glaze in progress

Glazed fruit tart!

The entire tart making process was not difficult, just time consuming.  The crust came out beautifully with a minor crack that I fixed by putting a thin layer of melted white chocolate.  As for the filling, it was the first time I've ever heard of using white chocolate as part of a base.  I melted the chips in my own makeshift double boiler which I then transferred into a bowl with my cream cheese and whipping cream.  I would suggest definitely using a mixer to get the creamy consistency.  The rest of the process was the fun fruit arranging and glazing of the tart.  I didn't have a brush for my glazing, so it was hard to get a consistent layer across the entire top, but regardless glazing got done.  

Tart making is not as hard as I thought it would be.  I definitely want to try more with different fillings and fruits as they start coming into season.  I think to prevent cracks from happening, I will fill a pie pan with dried beans or rice and place over the crust as it is cooking and I will be picking up a brush for glazing.  Perfection will come, but for now I am content with my first ever fruit tart! 

Baking Time!

Spring is in the air and temperatures were up in the 60's today! Exciting!  The cherry blossoms and the sun are out and I think winter is finally coming to an end.  To celebrate that I decided to make some yummy cookies!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bowl of yumminess

Not skimping on the chocolate!

Ready to go in the oven!

 Nom nom nom!

This recipe has never failed me yet.  I substituted half of the flour with whole wheat flour for a healthier and crispier cookie! In addition to a happy tummy, I also have a wonderful smelling kitchen!

Re-creation of Pumpkin Pesto Penne from Goldbergs

I did an earlier post on a restaurant here called Goldbergs where I had an amazing Pumpkin Pesto Penne with Pancetta.  It was so good I needed to try and re-create it.  I didn't have all the ingredients that went it in, but had most of it and gave the recipe a shot.

  Pumpkin Pesto Penne 
- pesto
- half an onion diced
- 4 cloves or more of sliced garlic
- 1 half butternut pumpkin roasted and cut into cubes
- half a package of penne pasta cooked
- olive oil
- sun dried tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Rub olive oil and salt over the face of the butternut pumpkin and roast in 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until able to cut and scoop out flesh, but not too cooked so that it has a mushy texture.
2. Sautee onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil along with the sun dried tomatoes.
3. Add about a cup of pesto to the onions and garlic.
4. Immediately after adding pesto and stirring a bit, add cooked penne to the pan with some of the pasta water and toss so that all the pasta is coated with the pesto.
5. Add cubed roasted pumpkin to the dish and cook for several minutes before turning heat off.

 

Penne, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, diced onions, sliced garlic

Roasted butternut pumpkin and sauteed onions, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes, yum!

 

Voila!

I really wished I had some pancetta and fetta cheese to add to the dish as in its original recipe.  Regardless, it was still tasty and if you've never added pumpkin to your food before, you should! It is chock full of beta-carotene and vitamins and adds a sweetness to your dish that balances well with a salty component like pesto in this case.  I've also had pumpkin in lentil salad here as well as in soups and on its own as a side dish.  It is definitely not an ingredient to be used only for the fall, but should be eaten year round!

Pesto chicken with Mushroom

Dinner tonight, pesto chicken! Another creation from my head I'm afraid as I did not have all the proper ingredients to make it the normal way.

Pesto Chicken with Mushrooms
- 4 chicken thighs
- sliced mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- pesto
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

1. Saute sliced garlic in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Place chicken thighs on garlic and brown each side for about 3 minutes to make a nice garlic crust.  Season with salt and pepper and add mushrooms to pan as the chicken is browning. 
2. Once browning is done, pour in the cup of chicken broth and let chicken simmer for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once in between to allow for even cooking time.  The broth will infuse the chicken with flavor and provide a nice sauce with the mushrooms once it reduces down.  Add water if more liquid is needed. 
   
3. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through and the final step is to place a good spoonful of pesto on each piece of chicken and turn up the heat to allow the sauce to bubble over the chicken and cook all the way through with the pesto flavor.
4. Serve over rice and with a side of vegetable!  Bon Appetit!

Pesto Chicken with Mushroom

Dinner is served!

Not having your own kitchen with all your trusty spices and tools is a bit of a challenge, but its a lot of fun and it is still always a pleasure to cook for others!

Pasta de Sausage

Another cooking night! Mel and I made a new friend yesterday, her name is Tracy and she got in about 3 days ago to Newcastle from China.  She is a business student studying at the University for one year in a masters program.  W took her to the beach yesterday and had a lot of fun trying to teach her to swim, building a huge sand turtle, going to the mall, and then having dinner.  I decided to make a sausage penne pasta for dinner and had a lot of fun seeing what I could invent up!

My ingredients for the night

(salt, olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, tomato pasate, balsamic vinegar)

(garlic, onions, sausage, mushroom)

Penne pasta & sauteed onions, garlic, and sausage

Penne de Sausage!

Penne de Sausage

- 3 or more sliced garlic cloves

- 1 onion diced

- mushrooms sliced

- 3 sausages cooked and sliced

- 1 package of penne pasta cooked
- sun-dried tomatoes

- tomato paste

- olive oil

- balsamic vinegar

- italian seasoning

1. Slice and dice all your vegetables up and set to the side. In the meantime, bring pot of water to boil and toss penne in to cook.
   
2. Fry up sausage and slice.  To sausage oil, add more olive oil and fry up onions and garlic.  Add a dash or two of balsamic vinegar to the pan and reduce out.  Once onion has cooked to a translucent consistency, add in the mushrooms and the sausage.  
3. Add tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes to dish once everything has been combined.  At this point the pasta can now be added into the pan.  Add some of the pasta water directly into with the pasta also that the dish will have a sauce base and add more olive oil and Italian seasoning to taste.
   

Voila! Penne de Sausage!! Enjoy!

Jambalaya Ghetto Style

I have a pretty decent shared kitchen in my apartment complex complete with gas stoves and walk in refrigerators. Though things are a bit well used due to the number of people using the kitchen I was able to whip up a decent meal tonite for Mel and I. With just a little bit of creativeness and resourcefulness we made some delicious jambalaya. 

Ghetto Jambalaya

- 4 stalks of celery chopped

- one chopped onion

- 3 cloves of garlic or more minced

- half a bell pepper chopped

- 3 chorizo sausages

- one can of diced tomatos

- italian seasoning

- chili powder

- 1 cup of uncooked rice

- 2 cups of chicken broth

1. Chop up all your vegetables and place to the side.  In the meantime fry up your sausages until they are cooked and then take out of the pan to cool and slice into pieces.  With the oil leftover from the sausages, add some more olive oil and fry up your onions and garlic.  Throw in the celery and bell pepper once your onions have cooked down a bit and become translucent.  Season with Italian seasoning and some of the chili powder to taste.  Throw back the sliced sausages into the pan and mix with the vegetables. 
2. Wash out your one cup of rice until clean and push aside contents in frying pan so that rice can be sauteed.  Cooking the rice this way will add a nice flavor to it once it is done.  After it has been well mixed in the oils, incorporate it with the other contents.  
3. Open your can of tomatoes and pour it along with the juices into the pan and add your two cups of chicken broth as well.  Stir so that the rice is covered in the liquid.  Taste and add more seasoning if needed. 
4. Cover and bring to a boil after which heat should then be turned to a simmer and jambalaya allowed to cook for about 20 minutes.  Check and stir about halfway through to make sure that rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.  If more liquid is needed, add more broth or water. 

 Chopped up vegetables

 

Wonderful gas stoves and our chorizo getting nice and brown

Everything cooking up nicely

Ghettofab Jambalaya!

Real jambalaya would require Cajun seasoning which I didn't have so I improvised with Italian seasoning and chili powder for a bit of the heat which I normally would have gotten from the Cajun spices. I also would have liked to use a much spicier sausage and added some fresh peeled shrimp.  All in all though, it was still a great dish and I definitely had fun being creative!

Dumpling Night

I love eating dumplings, especially homemade ones! Two nights ago, I came home from work and found a package of dumpling wrappers and bowl of filling ready to be wrapped up.  My mom had already combined ground turkey with chopped cabbage, shitake mushrooms, minced white onions,and chopped greens onions  all together with her special seasoning. I did the easy job of helping her to wrap.

All ready to go!

The wrapping doesn't take too long and we made a total of about forty dumplings. YUM YUM!

Dumplings all wrapped nicely, waiting to be cooked!

Pan fried with a crispy bottom but moist and flavorful filling

Homemade dumplings with a bowl of rice is the perfect way to end a long day, comfort food at its best!