Pumpkin; The true Fairy Godmother

“Her godmother scooped out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the rind. Then she struck it with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine gilded coach.” Charles Perrault

The perfect fall breakfast

I love the change of the seasons! It is a new opportunity to fall in love with the seasons’ food all over again. As the light changes to gold and the nights get longer, my thoughts turn to fall foods, particularly pumpkin. There is something about pumpkins that just makes me smile. Maybe it’s their big, bright, orange faces and curly stems that are so emblematic of fall. Or maybe it’s all the memories that swell around the orange gourd of trick o’ treating, pie, and falling leaves.

Pumpkins are royalty of the nutrition world. They take the throne in their lively color which is the herald of their strong content of beta carotene. Beta carotene… pause for applause….is one of the most amazing nutrients we can consume for overall health. It is an antioxidant that destroys free radicals in our systems, supports eye health, reduces the aging process and is linked to prevention of cancer and heart disease. Wow, how good does it get! (It is important to note that beta carotene needs to be ingested naturally, through foods. Artificial beta carotene is under scrutiny for accelerating cancer.) The crowning glory of pumpkins is that there are only 83 calories and a mega 7 grams of fiber in a cup of cooked pumpkin! They are also a good source of Vitamins C, K, and E, and lots of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and iron. Pumpkins were aptly represented as the gilded vehicle in Cinderella.

So, one may ask, how do we get pumpkin on the table in any other form than a pie? I have been exploring that very thought for many years. I love adding cubed pumpkin or other winter squash to soups, salads, smoothies and even mashed potatoes.(More to come on that one.) Yet, I think my fondest autumn recipe is Pumpkin Pancakes. Pumpkin Pancakes have long been the declaration in our house that fall is officially here. I have experimented with many pancakes to bring you these glass slippers.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ tsp of cloves

½ teaspoon of nutmeg, preferably fresh ground

½ teaspoon salt

1¾ cups milk

1 teaspoon of good vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil

1½ tablespoons vinegar, I use apple cider vinegar

Add dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix together with a whip. Then add wet ingredients together in another bowl and whip. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together till just mixed. Pour wet pancake mix on a medium hot griddle. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

~Note ~ One can substitute three teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of the above spices. Mother Nature’s has a great bulk one! You can either make your own pumpkin puree or get it out of a can. In this one instance I prefer the canned organic pumpkin.

If you really want to blow everyone’s minds and a few calories make this syrup to go with the pancakes. This syrup is actually a much lower calorie version of its original and it turns this in to a breakfast fit for Cinderella and her prince. May you have your meal with gladness and health!

Bourbon Pecan Syrup

1/2  cup of sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/3 cup of water

1/3 cup of chopped toasted pecans

1½ tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of bourbon or liqueur of your choice, (I love to use Tuaca which is an Italian liqueur infused with vanilla and citrus.) optional

2 teaspoons of a good vanilla

Combine sugars and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Stir in pecans, butter, bourbon, and vanilla extract. Reduce heat, and cook 3 minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly. Serve immediately with the hot pumpkin pancakes.

Potatoes, Earthly Delights, Part 2

“What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.”A. A. Milne

Potatoes, the Ultimate comfort food. In fact the Latin word for potato is Solanum tuberosum, and solanum is derived from a word that means “soothing.”  It is truly divine that this comfort food is also good for you. Potatoes are the only major crop produced in the world that is complete nutritionally.

Unfortunately, this very regal vegetable was vilianized with the carbohydrate phobia that surfaced in the 90’s. They were viewed as an evil food that would make you blossom into an obese cow overnight. Where in truth, they are low in fat, calories and cholesterol and loaded with vitamin C, potassium, and B6. Spuds are also an excellent source of energy and fiber, particularly if you eat the skin. The only thing bad about potatoes is what we do to them.

Potatoes are actually going through a new renaissance with all the different varieties available that have such diverse flavors, textures and colors. Gone are the days of only being able to get Russets and red potatoes. Now you can choose from 80 different delicious varieties to tickle your taste buds. The question is; how does one pick the best potatoes for the job at hand?

For practical purposes, potatoes fall into two easy categories; baking and boiling potatoes.  The major difference between these two types is the starch content in them and their skins.

Baking potatoes, which usually have a rough skin, are high in a starch called amylose. This starch breaks apart easily making a splendid fluffy baked potato or creamy mashers.  Russets lead the contingency of proud bakers, followed by Goldrush, White Rose and Long White. (By the way, Idaho potatoes are russets.)

Boiling potatoes, which are also called waxy potatoes due to their smooth skin, are relatively low in a starch called amylopectin. This starch is actually a pectin that holds the potato together nicely when boiled. They are ideal for soups, casseroles, salads, gratins and grilling. Some of the well known boiling characters are any yellow, red or white potato such as Red Bliss, Russian Banana, Finish Yellow, and French Fingerlings.

To totally confuse the subject, there is actually an “all purpose” category as well. These spuds are a nice cross between the bakers and the boilers. These flexible varieties are all the purple, yellow and red fleshed potatoes like Yukon Gold, Peruvian Purples, and Cranberry Reds.

Gratins are normally one of the naughty things we do to potatoes. This wonderful gratin recipe uses blue cheese for a stronger flavor so you don’t have to use so much fatting cheese. I used Oregonzola by Rouge Creamery and it was delish! If you do not like blue cheese, substitute a sharp white cheddar cheese, like Tillamook’s Vintage White Extra Sharp. The tarragon can also be substituted for dill or any other herb that lights your fire.

Blue Cheese Potato Gratin

Adapted from Cooking light

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of unbleached flour

2 ½ cups of fat free milk

¾ cup of crumbled blue cheese

1 teaspoon of salt

Few cranks of black pepper

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon or

2 teaspoons of dried tarragon

3 pounds of a boiling potato cut into thin slices

½ cup of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Crank up the oven to 375 degrees and get out a small saucepan. Melt the butter over medium high heat and then sprinkle the flour over the frothy butter. Cook while stirring quickly with a whisk, for a few minutes. Then, with your third arm, gradually add the milk while still whisking. The milk and butter mix will blend together nicely, and then after a few minutes, while you are still whisking, the sauce will start to thicken. Drop in the blue cheese, a little at a time, while still whisking. After the cheese has melted, stir in the tarragon, salt and pepper. Set aside and keep your fingers out of it!

Get out your handy dandy 13 X 9 baking dish and lightly oil the bottom and sides. Arrange about 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom, then pour about 1/3 of that yummy cheese sauce over them. Repeat with two more layers, ending with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmigiano cheese and bake covered, for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes or so till all bubbly and fragrant. Let it stand for about 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven, to set. Enjoy this earthly delight!

Nutritional facts for 8 servings; 260 calories; 8 grams of fat; 4 grams of fiber

Spooky Kooky treats!

“Eat drink and be scary.” Ghoulia Child

The go-evil gourmet

May I interest you in some dirt and worms?

Newsflash! Potatoes part 2 has been abducted by gremlins and goblins! (evil laughter from another room.)  More devious designs for this week’s column is being brought to you by…..bone rattling please…. Ghoulia Child, the fire breathing sorceress of kitchen magic!

“Hello my pretties! The witching times are upon us and the time for brewing up devilish delights is ripe! (Like the corpse in the other room!)  Here are some quick and easy ghoulish bites to whip up for your little monsters and their friends for All Hallows Eve. They are perfect for cooking your children in, oh I mean for cooking with your children!”

“The first two recipes call for bread dough. I like to make my own whole wheat dough and roll it out real thin and use it. You can buy pre-made whole wheat dough in the freezer section or give into the dark side and use Pillsbury dough in a can. Quick, easy and brutal. (These ideas are thanks to “Our Best Bites” at  http://www.ourbestbites.com/

Mummy Dogs

1 package of ww bread dough or

Make your own dough or

Pillsbury crescent roll dough in a can

1 package of hot dogs or tofu dogs

Roll the bread dough out in a flat rectangle about ¼ thick, and cut into thin strips. Wrap the dogs up in the dough, mummy like, the messier you do it the spookier it gets! Then a wrap a little on the head, leaving a space for the face. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 to 13 minutes or till they are screaming and golden brown. Dot rat’s guts (mustard) for the eyes and offer up bat’s blood (ketchup) for dipping.

Bones and Blood

1 package of ww bread dough, or

Make you own or

Pillsbury bread stick dough in a can

Italian seasoning

Fresh grated cheese

Marinara sauce

Roll out the dough into a flat rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut into thin strips about 8 inches long and 1 inch wide. Snip the ends with scissors about 2 inches into the strip, and curl down into a bone shape. Put on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with herbs and cheese. Bake for about 10 – 15 minutes till golden. Serve with wolf blood. (marinara sauce)

Monster Inc. Apples

4 apples, different colors

(pink ladies, golden delicious, red )

Almond slivers

Peanut butter

Candy eyes

Butcher the apples by cutting them into quarters. Operate to take a part of their brains out by cutting a wedge out of the center of the apple, careful not to cut too deep! Drop into a bowl with a tablespoon of lemon juice in some water to keep them from turning brown. Fill the wedge with peanut butter and insert the slivered almonds for teeth. I used a toothpick to make a whole before I inserted the almond sliver. Then stick the candy dots on the monster for eyes with peanut butter. Crunch away!

Dirt and Worms

1 package of chocolate pudding

Crushed chocolate wafers

Gummy worms

Make up the chocolate pudding as directed. I use non-fat milk, it works just as well. Make the “dirt” by placing waxed paper over the cookies and roll with a rolling pin. (Or you can give them to one of your little monsters to stomp on in a cereal bag.)  Layer the pudding in a small clear glass, poke a few worms in there, and sprinkle with the “dirt.” Eeuuuhhh.

Magic Wands

1 package of pretzel rods

1 package of white chocolate chips or

1 package of dark chocolate

2 teaspoons of canola oil

Halloween cookie sprinkles

Fire up the caldron and melt the white chocolate in a double broiler. Stir in the oil while the chocolate is melting. Pour your brew into a tall thin mug. Dip one end of the pretzel rods into the chocolate and let the excess run off back into the cup. Lay your wand down on a sheet of waxed paper and sprinkle with cookie decorations and toad toes while it is still warm. Allow it to cool completely before whipping up magic with it. Serve them stuck in a clear vase or glass filled with candy corn.

Witches hats

Witches Hats

1 package of chocolate dipped cookies

Like Keebler Fudge striped cookies

Heresy kisses (or bites)

Frosting in a tube in ghoulish colors

Or make your own

Lay the cookies out on a piece of waxed paper, chocolate side up, and glue the kiss to the middle of the cookie with the frosting. As you squish the kiss down onto the frosting, it will form a little ring that is the hat band. Then just pipe a little bow on the hat band, and abracadabra! A witches’ magic hat!

Have a hauntingly good Halloween and eat your cookies! He he heee heee he

Potatoes, earthly delights, Part 1

“The potato is one of humanity’s most important weapons in the battle against hunger.” Carlos Ochoa

French fingerlings, Russian bananas, russets, and red potatoes

Potatoes are a subject near and dear to my heart. Maybe it is partly being born and raised in Idaho, maybe because they bring waves of bliss over me when I eat them. Either way, there is so much to share on this delicious subject that there will be two articles devoted to potatoes.

Last weekend, my mother and I skipped out to the garden patch armed with a pitch fork and gloves, and unearthed our buried treasure of hundreds of pounds of potatoes. We felt like triumphant prospectors, digging up these nuggets of goodness. I kept giggling and exclaiming, “we’re rich!”  As I dug through the earth, my mind turned to our ancestors and how potatoes were the nutritious cushion between them and starvation. But this wasn’t always true.

Potatoes appeared out of thin air, on the slopes on the Andes in South America some 7000 years ago.  Their amazing ability to grow in austere conditions and store well through the winter made them a favored food of early Andean people. The Spaniards didn’t cart them over to Europe till the late 1500’s as a botanical curiosity. Then, they were only cultivated as a cheap food to feed prison inmates and animals.

The rest of Europe wasn’t having anything to do with the potato either due to its reputation as food of the underprivileged and being from the dreaded nightshade family. This foreign tuber was considered drop dead toxic by the public. Oh, and they might cause Leprosy among other things. The French went so far as to make the cultivation of spuds forbidden.

Two hundred years later, enter stage left, the Frenchman and pharmacist Antoine Parmentier. Parmentier had developed an impressive respect for the potato while imprisoned in Prussia during the “seven years war.” He was faced with eating this “hog food” or die of starvation. He ate the potatoes. Lo and behold, he didn’t become poisoned. In fact, he thrived.

In 1772, Parmentier came back to France and took up the crusade for the modest potato. Even though he proved through scientific studies that it wasn’t poisonous, still no one would eat it. So finally, as a last ditch effort, he planted 50 acres of potatoes, right outside of the Paris city limits, and set armed guards on the “valuable” patch. These guards were instructed to take any and all bribes to share the “loot” and withdraw at night for plunders. Sure enough, the stolen potatoes spread astoundingly fast through the French countryside.

By the 1780s potatoes had become a valuable food crop through out Europe. In the United States, it was still largely a food grown for hogs till the mid 1800s, when potato blight brought about the “Great Famine” in Ireland. Ireland’s population dropped by 50% in just a few years from starvation and mass exodus. Most of these emigrants came to North America and brought their great love of potatoes with them. And that, my friends, is how potatoes became a beloved staple on the America table in just the last 200 years. Amazing huh?

Many potato dishes in France are named in honor of Antoine Parmentier. Potage Parmentier is a simple potato leek soup that we have all experienced on some level. Julia Child paid homage to Parmentier with her version of it. As Julia said, “smells good, tastes good, and is simplicity itself to make.” Here is a version much like Julia’s. Make sure a use organic potatoes, their flavor is superior.

Potage Parmentier

3 to 4 cups of sliced leeks or onions

3 to 4 cups of cubed potatoes

2 tablespoons of butter

1 quart of water

1 quart of chicken broth

1 to 2 hand fulls of chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

4 to 6 tablespoons of heavy cream

Break out your favorite soup pot and melt the butter on medium high heat. Toss in the leeks and sauté till just beginning to get fragrant, then add the potatoes. Stir till well mixed and add the water, chicken broth and parsley. Lower the heat and simmer gently till the potatoes are perfect, about 15 – 20 minutes.

Now, here is the part where Julia says to run the soup through a food mill. (A food mill!) So if you know what it is and actually have one, use it here. I used my food processor and pulsed just a few times. One could also use a good old potato masher or a blender. If you do use the blender, just pulse the soup a few times. The object is to have a few chunks and creaminess.

Return the soup to the pan and heat gently, add the heavy cream and flavor with the salt and pepper. (Julia suggested 2 tablespoons of salt, EEK!) Ladle the soup into your most French looking bowls and garish with some chopped chives and parsley. Serve with a crusty bread and Bon Appetite!

Untapped bounty; green tomatoes

“Cooks who understand these introverted green beauties can promote their richness, versatility and color appeal to the world.” Jolene George

Beautiful Green tomatoes

It is getting to be that time of the year when I start thinking about what sort of soups to make. It is also that time of the year when unripe green tomatoes are hanging abandoned in the garden with the spiders. In the past, I have always thought what a waste that is, but this year I am looking at those bulging green beauties with…..lust.

Green tomatoes are actually a windfall when you know what to do with them. First suggestion is to take one of those ignored waifs from your garden and cut it up and taste it.  You will notice that they have a very mild taste and will easily take on the flavors of the foods you cook them with. Yet, they are firm enough to withstand the heat of the fire, unlike their outgoing older cousins. This makes them a very versatile veggie with limitless possibilities. They can do soups, gratins, salads, salsas, sandwiches and even desserts.

It is important to learn a few tricks when working with the under employed, unripe tomato. First off, make sure and pick the biggest ones possible. They will be the less bitter. Second, you will want to core the unripe tomato because its core is woodier and more acidic than in a ripe tomato. Do this by slicing the tomato in half and the core will be a small hard white spot near the stem. Cut that out with a small paring knife and your green tomato adventures have just begun!

The next suggestion is to start experimenting with your unripe tomatoes. Try breaking outside the fried green tomatoes box and using them in different recipes. I was amazed at how many different recipes there actually are for these little green nuggets. We tried them in a gratin, a crisp, salsa, soup and then this salad. Our guinea pigs decided that the salad was the most inventive and delicious. So here it is presented for you to try. I will post the salsa recipe on my blog; http://danazia.wordpress.com/ for it came in a close second. Don’t be shy to do a search online for recipes for green tomatoes. It is amazing what turns up! Happy experimenting!

Green tomato Salad

Caramelized Green Tomato and Nectarine Green Salad

For the vinaigrette

4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons of finely chopped shallots

4 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or

white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of salt

Few cranks of black pepper

Put all the ingredients into a jar and put on the lid. (Important safety tip, make sure it is a tight fitting lid!) Shake it all up till well blended.

For the Salad

2 large nectarines or apples, cut into thin wedges

4 unripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 teaspoon of sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

A few drizzles of olive oil

6 cups or so of mixed salad greens

1 cup of fresh basil leaves, shredded

½ cup or more of crumbled blue cheese

½ cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts

Fresh cracked black pepper

What to do…..

In a medium bowl, toss the tomato and nectarines wedges with the sugar and the salt. While those wait for their starring role, line up the supporting cast by mixing the salad greens and basil together. Arrange 6 salad plates with the greens. Crumble up the blue cheese and have it hanging in the wings with the nuts. Heat up your favorite large skillet and add a few drizzles of olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, lower the heat to medium and add the tomatoes and nectarines, laying them on their sides. Try not to crowd them in the skillet and cook these little stars, without disturbing them till them begin to brown.  Flip them onto their other sides and caramelize that side too.

Working quickly, remove the tomatoes and nectarines from the skillet and arrange them artfully on the greens. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and hazelnuts and drizzle with the dressing. Crank a bit of pepper on top and serve immediately to some lucky family and friends.