Move over, turkey… we all know Thanksgiving is really just about the sides.

In light of Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday (not just because I’m a foodie, although that is a major part) – I’ve been making a lot of side dishes lately that involve squash, cranberries, and other fall produce. These tend to be my favorite foods of the holiday, and I never understood why so much emphasis is placed on the turkey. Without the gravy, cranberry, stuffing, and all that other stuff to dress it up, it would be just plain boring and tasteless! Pass me the sweet potato casserole and green beans please! Here are two interesting takes on traditional veggie dishes – squash and brussel sprouts – that I’ve come up with recently and will perhaps incorporate into my own Thanksgiving dinner someday, if I ever stop going to my aunt’s house for it because I’ll have my own family. Haha, fat chance that will ever happen.

Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

Ingredients:

• one large spaghetti squash

• 3-4 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

(1) Poke squash all over with a knife, making cuts that are about an inch deep. This will prevent the squash from bursting in the microwave, which is the easiest way to cook it. Nuke it on high for 6 to 7 minutes, then turn it over and cook until slightly soft when pressed, about 8 to 9 minutes longer. Allow it to cool while making the spice mixture.

(2) In a pan, heat the butter on medium heat until it melts. Add the minced garlic and cook until it gets soft and just barely golden (the smell will permeate your nostrils, which also lets you know that’s enough). Stir in the salt and spices and remove from the heat.

(3) Carefully halve the squash lengthwise with a large knife and scoop out the seeds. Working over a bowl, scrape out the flesh with a fork, loosening and separating the strands as you go (true to its name, it will actually look like spaghetti!) Toss it with the spiced butter mixture and EAT!

Maple-Infused Brussel Sprouts with Apple and Bacon

 

Ingredients:

• 1 container of fresh brussel sprouts, halved and shredded along the stem side with a knife

• 1 granny smith apple, sliced thinly and chopped into small pieces

• a few slices of turkey bacon (I used 5)

• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup

• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

(1) Chop the bacon into small pieces, and fry them in a heated pan until crisp. Remove the bacon and deglaze the pan with either some water or a little bit of butter, if it’s not greasy enough from the bacon (this will definitely happen if you’re using turkey bacon, which is a lot leaner).

(2) Add the apples and cook until they are a little softened. Add the brussel sprouts, cooking until soft, and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with more water if necessary, and add maple syrup, mixing everything in together. Add the bacon back into the pan or just sprinkle it on top to retain the crispiness.

Happy Thanksgiving! Off to gorge until I hit a food coma

Apples to Apples… sweet-tooth to sick-tooth

An apple a day keeps the doctor, so they say. In my case, I need to eat two then because I have been nothing but sick lately. I don’t know what is wrong with me. First allergies, then a hacking cough, now back to allergies, and one of my wisdom teeth is making my jaw hurt like hell. Time for some apples then, if I can even bite into one…

But yeah, I love apples. Plain, with peanut butter, in a cobbler, sautéed with some butter and sugar, and even paired with savory dishes like chicken and sausage, mixed with some cheese in a quesadilla. They’re yummy in just about anything! And, they make me think of the board game “Apples to Apples,” which makes me love them even more. I recently just found this site where you can actually play a round or two, but the computer opponents apparently do not share the same humor as me, since “The CIA” was apparently thought of as more “mysterious” than “Mud.” Oh well. It’s much better in real life anyway. And, this cartoon I found pretty much sums up the game:

- And, since this is part art blog, when I think of apples who better comes to my mind then Cezanne?

So anyway, I thought I would share two recipes for apple cake I made recently: one in my staple loaf format, and the other one in a square baking pan to make it look more cake-like. Enjoy!

Recipe #1:

Apple-Cinnamon Wheat Loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I use fuji!)

• 1/3 cup rolled oats

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 2 heaping tbsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. cloves (or allspice)

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices, minus 1 tbsp. cinnamon. In another bowl, toss this remaining cinnamon with the chopped apples and set aside.*

(2) In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and beaten eggs. Add in the flour mixture, in increments, mixing the ingredients until JUST combined (a few visible streaks of flour is ok).

(3) Fold the chopped apples into the batter, and pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan.

(4) Sprinkle oats on top of the batter, covering it completely. If desired, add some brown sugar dotted with butter as well.

(5) Bake for about 50-65 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

*Note: to keep apples from browning, you can soak them in water spiked with a little bit of vinegar until you’re ready to add them to the batter.

Recipe #2:

Simple Applesauce Cake

adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup all-purpose four

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp. allspice

• 1/4 tsp. cloves

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• 1 cup applesauce (I used sweetened)

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan, and set aside.

(2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

(3) With a hand mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until light, then add the sugars and beat until fluffy… about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until just incorporated. Add the vanilla and applesauce and blend until smooth.

(4) Mix in half of the dry ingredients, and right before it’s just blended, add the buttermilk. Then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients until completely incorporated. Don’t overmix!!!

(5) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 25-35 minutes, depending on which size pan you use (the bigger one will be quicker, as the batter is thinner and more spread out). The cake will spring back a little to the touch, and poke a toothpick into it also to check if it’s not raw. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a bit before reverting it out of the pan.

If desired, add a little icing to the cake! I suggest using a cream cheese one, since the one I used (just powdered sugar and half and half), came out a little runny. It would also be great with maple syrup or honey!

muffin maniaaaaaa!

I don’t know why, but I’ve really been into making muffins recently. Just like quick breads, you can pretty much throw anything into them and they’re bound to be delicious, and it’s basically the same batter too, just in a different format by pouring it into a muffin tin. I like the 12-count kind the best, since the results are not too huge but not too small to leave you wanting more… perfect to eat as a snack or with your coffee in the morning. I’ve been incorporating lots of delicious fall flavors into my muffins lately, like apple-cinnamon and pumpkin, of course, which have been yielding some tasty results. So tasty that I’m starting to take on some characteristics of this baked good – I now have “muffin tops” pouring out of the top of my jeans, which, by contrast, are not so appetizing. must……. stop……… baking…….

um ok, who am I kidding? anyway here are two of my favorite muffin recipes as of recently. And, to accompany them, click here for some amusing films about muffins. Enjoy!

 

Ginger-Pear Muffins

 

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup white flour

• 3/4 cup wheat flour

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, +2 tbsp brown sugar for topping

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/2 cup milk or water, plus more as needed

• 1 ripe pear, chopped into small pieces

• 1 tsp. ginger

• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

 

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-compartment muffin tin with some butter (or baking spray, for those who are calorie conscious). Be generous or they will not come out of the pan!!

(2) Mix together the salt, flour, baking powder, baking soda, powdered ginger. Set aside.

(3) Use a wooden spoon/spatula to cream the butter and sugar together. Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract, then mix it in with the butter and sugar.

(4) Gradually add the flour mixture, and moisten the batter with a little more milk or water. (the batter should be a little lumpy, not watery and smooth. Thick, yet moist is what you’re going for, so if more liquid is needed then do not hesitate.

(5) Fold in the chopped pear and ginger, then pour the batter into the muffin tin. Most recipes say to fill them about two-thirds full, but I like my muffin tops big so I fill it practically to the top. If you do this, you’ll probably have to bake them 2-4 minutes longer. Top with sprinkled browned sugar, mixed with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

(6) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the muffins are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the tin. EAT THEM WARM! That’s when they’re the best!The next one is based off my pumpkin bread, and is by far the best muffin I have ever made. The cream cheese to accompany it is fantastic as well, so I’m posting both recipes.

 

Pumpkin Muffins with Pumpkin Cream Cheese
(holy crap that’s a lot of pumpkin)

Muffin Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups flour (I recommend using 3/4 white and 3/4 wheat)

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 cup granulated sugar, +2 tbsp for topping

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup canola oil

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp. allspice

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1 tsp. ginger

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• handful of pumpkin seeds

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-compartment muffin tin with some butter or cooking spray. Again, be generous or they will not come out of the pan!!

(2) In a medium bowl, mix together the salt, flour, baking soda, and sugar. Set aside.

(3) In a larger bowl, use a wooden spoon/spatula/whisk, whatever, to mix together the beaten eggs, pumpkin, oil, water, and spices.

(4) Add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Do not overmix!! Fold in the nuts and cranberries.

(5) In a smaller bowl, combine 2 tbsp sugar and some cinnamon, along with the pumpkin seeds. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, and top with the cinnamon-sugar seed mixture.

(6) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the muffins are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the tin. Again, EAT THEM WARM!! That’s when they are in their ruling glory!!As for the cream cheese, it’s best to make this the day before. Then you can rip open your steaming hot muffin and slather some cool cream cheese to balance things.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip/Spread:

Ingredients:

• 1 package cream cheese, softened at room temp.

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. ginger

• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. allspice

Directions:
Easy – Beat the cream cheese and sugar together with a hand mixer. Beat in the pumpkin and spices, then cover and chill in your fridge overnight. Use it on your muffins, bagels, and even as a dip for some gingersnap cookies or sliced apples. It truly kicks ass.