Pumpkins Aren't Just for Carving!

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin cookies, and the list goes on. All these things have one thing in common: pumpkin puree! (OK - maybe two: they are delicious!) All things pumpkin signify fall. And it is easier to make your own than you might think. This time of year, there are pumpkins readily available that you need not trek to the nearest patch - although there is plenty of fun in that. All you need is a pie pumpkin - smaller than your average carving pumpkin. A 4 oz. pumpkin should yield 4 cups of puree. Here are the steps:

1. Cut your pumpkin in half or quarters, whichever is easier (and safer) for you. Using a serrated knife is generally easier.

2. Scope out the seeds and guts using a spoon. Separate the seeds from guts by placing in a shallow pan of water. Keep the seeds to plant next year or for roasting.

3. There are many methods out there for how to cook the pumpkin - but I chose to steam mine on the stove. Use a large pan to ensure enough water throughout the process and big enough to hold the pumpkin. If you don't have a large enough pan, you can do it in batches. You can also microwave the pumpkin or cook it in the oven. The thought of cooking something in the microwave for 20-30 minutes (not to mention I didn't have a big-enough glass container) or heating my oven for this were the reasons I chose to steam. (Just google 'pumpkin puree' to learn of the other methods.)

4. Steam the pumpkin for 20 minutes over medium heat. Check the pumpkin. It should be VERY soft, almost falling off from the rind. If it isn't - keep cooking. I cooked mine for 40 minutes.

5. Pull the pumpkin out of the pot. Depending on how tough you are, let it cool until you can scoop the pumpkin from the rind. It should come out very easily using a spoon. You can also place the pumpkin in a bowl to make it easier to scrape, and this requires less handling. Note: the longer the pumpkin cooks, the softer the puree. BUT the more likely the rind is to fall apart easily. I think next time I will only cook it for 30 minutes and take it out to cool immediately.

6. Once all the pumpkin has been scooped out, you can either mash with a fork or potato masher, or use an immersion blender to reach the desired consistency.

7. Let cool. Either use or freeze in labeled containers for later. I made mine into pumpkin cookies!! The rest I will use for pumpkin soup (recipe to follow soon!) in the coming weeks. I saved a few seeds for planting next year, and the rest I roasted for snacks and salad toppers.

Pumpkin is the perfect fall food - low in calories, and high in potassium and beta carotene. It's no trick - just the perfect treat!

Better Late Than Never

So in August, I listed a few things I had made and received a request for the following two recipes. Here they are. Finally.

Choco-Zucchini Cupcakes
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 8 oz.) - if using frozen: thaw and squeeze out all water first
3 eggs
2 scant cups sugar
3/4 cup cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 recipe peanut butter frosting (follows)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 24 2 1/2 inch muffin cups with paper bake cups or lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together zucchini, eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and if desired, chocolate chips; stir until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pans, filing cups about half full. Bake about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from cups. Cool completely on racks. Frost with peanut butter frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting

In a medium mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup softened butter, 1 Tbsp. milk, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, beating until combined. If necessary, stir in 1 to 2 tsp. additional milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.

**Recipe from www.bhg.com

Tub Scrub
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup (approx.) castile liquid soap*
5 to 10 drops antibacterial essential oil, such as lavender, tea tree, or rosemary (optional)

Pour baking soda into a medium-size mixing bowl. Add soap a little at a time, stirring continuously. Stop adding after your mixture has begun to resemble frosting (Note: not to be confused with the frosting above!). Mix in drops of essential oil if using. Store in an airtight container for up to a year.

*I use peppermint castile soap and it smells fresh and clean!!

Use this soap in place of of the toxic cleaners lurking under the bathroom sink.

**From naturalhomemagazine.com

Blog AWOL

So I have been taking a hiatus, or maybe a sabbatical, but really - I have just been plain busy. But who isn't? What does the term "busy" even mean anymore. It is one of those misnomers we so frequently use - because we think we have to be busy to be productive, or because it is an easy response to "how have you been?" So I declare a strike on "busy" - on the word, and everything it implies.

But I digress....

What does having many to-do's and not enough time in the day (how's that for a strike!) have to do with making things from scratch?

Well, as with anything that is planned and contains thought - it just works out better. I find this true for food. When I plan out my meals - they are healthier, cheaper, and I feel so much better knowing that after a long day I don't have to think about one more thing.

So let's throw mismanaged time out the door and PLAN a few meals, a grocery list, time to cook - and most of all - time to enjoy.

Homemade CD Case

As a result of music downloads and CD making, I have many unprotected CDs. What to do? Make paper cases (envelopes) from old magazine or calendar pages! After consulting Google, I created a pattern from a few different online versions, as well as looking at the store bought version of a paper case.
Envelopes are easily made to fit the size of your letter, CD, or just about anything you need to store or mail. (I credit my sister for the CD case idea - she has given me a few over the years.) Making envelopes recycles items lying around the house and adds unique style to something that is otherwise fairly boring. How fun to get a letter (a what!?) inside of a homemade envelope!!


The finished product - 2 cases for CDs I just burned for Christmas gifts!

My Latest Projects

I have been in a crafty mood lately. Here are the results....I am learning to knit!! I started while in a meeting in Denver. I was bored and watching a women knit in front of me. I talked to her on one of the breaks, and mentioned how I was wanting to learn. She said if I came back the next day with needles and yarn - she would teach me - and she did! This is the start of my scarf!

I made a few "reconditioned" cards - from previously used items. The above card is from my leftover wedding invitations and my dad's old daytimer. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!" I gave this card to my sister for her birthday.

Here are the rest of the cards from the batch.

My last project of the weekend - a painted onsie for Grayson!! I purchased a pack of white onsies that I plan to applique, paint, and anything else that catches my fancy. For this particular one - I dyed it in tea to create a nice kakhi color, and then painted on these fun trees!

Taste of Home

One of my favorite treats growing up - and still today - is an old-fashioned ice cream soda. Homemade chocolate sauce, seltzer water, and vanilla ice cream. YUM! Now - there is something to be said for growing up with said treat vs. trying it for the first time when you are older. I am used to flavors that aren't over-sweetened, salted, and laden with preservatives because that is how I grew up. However, if one is not used homemade flavors, homemade chocolate sauce may not taste as great to you. Cool thing about taste buds - we can retrain them! I will start with something easy....

Chocolate Syrup
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp. vanilla
dash salt

Combine cocoa and sugar in saucepan and mix well. Add water and stir gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture boils. Boil only 1 minute! Remove from heat, add vanilla and salt. Store in refrigerator.

Use for ice cream sodas - even better - chocolate martinis!

Yogurt a Go-Go

As promised - the summary of my yogurt making adventure: Well - really the adventure was to get the milk, the yogurt making process itself is pretty boring - but pretty easy!

The Ingredients:

1. Half-gallon whole milk (8 cups)

2. 1/2 cup store-bought plain live/active culture yogurt (This is the starter. Once you have your own, that will serve as your starter)

The Process:

Note: while it is easy, it does take time. I recommend the weekend or another time when you will be home all day.

1. Dump the milk into a 4 qt. crockpot and turn to low. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hrs.

2. Unplug crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let sit for 3 hours.

3. After 3 hrs., scoop out 2 cups of the warm milk and put in bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup of store-bought yogurt. Dump this mixture back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.

4. Place lid back on crockpot. Wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around for insulation.

5. Let sit for a minimum of 8 hrs. (I found 8 hrs. was not enough - mine sat for 8 hrs., and then overnight as well)

6. The yogurt will have thickened to the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

7. Stir in fruit, add toppings, enjoy!

Store in clean, leftover yogurt containers. Your homemade yogurt will last 7-10 days. Don't eat it all - you need to save 1/2 cup for the next batch!

We ate our first batch of homemade yogurt for breakfast today. We added fresh strawberries and my homemade yogurt topping. My husband even added some to his strawberry flavored store-bought yogurt!

Ode to Appliances

I must say how grateful I am to modern day appliances. My weekend scratch-fest would have been a much slower process without their assistance. I used a bread maker (purchased for $3 at Goodwill), crockpot, iced tea maker, coffee maker, oven/stove, and of course the fridge to store it all. Additionally, the washer/dryer came into the mix as they were going while some of the other appliances were running. Multi-tasking at its finest. Hummm - I wonder what my load on the grid was?

A Weekend of Scratch

I decided to keep track of how many things I made from scratch or used that I had previously made from scratch for the weekend. Turned out to be quite a list! I also took a few moments while at Safeway to price out what some of these items would have cost if purchased in the conventional manner.

From Scratch
1. Whole wheat bread
2. Bread mix (3)
3. Plain yogurt (3 24 oz. containers)
4. Yogurt topping (wheat germ, flax, psyllium husk, cinnamon)
5. Applesauce
6. Teething biscuits (32)
7. Baby food - carrots
8. Chocolate zucchini cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (24)
9. Chicken broth (24 oz.)
10. Burritos
11. Asian chicken salad with vinaigrette
12. Potato, beef, and carrot stew
13. Maple-flavored syrup
14. Window washing solution
15. Tub scrub (similar to Soft Scrub)
16. Coffee
17. Iced Tea

From Store

1. Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax (100% whole wheat) = $4.29

2. Krustez Cracked Wheat (not whole wheat) = $3.99 X 3 = $11.97

3. Plain yogurt = $2.99 (on sale), $3.59 (regular price)/32 oz.

4. Applesauce (generic, unsweetened) = $3.29 (sale), $3.79 (regular price)/47 oz.

5. Teething biscuits = $2.50 (sale), $3.49 (sale)/ 12 biscuits

6. Cupcakes with frosting = $5.99/12 cupcakes

7. Chicken broth (generic, reduced sodium in can) = $1.29/14 oz.

8. Window washing solution = $2.50 (sale), $2.99 (regular price)/32 oz.

*"green" window washing solution $3.00 (sale), $3.79 (regular price)/32 oz.

9. Iced Tea = $2.99/gal.

While I didn't take the time to price out every single ingredient and the amount used in the items made from scratch, it is fairly obvious to see not only the savings, but also how much healthier items are when you are in control of the ingredients (and not spending your "food dollar" on packaging and marketing). All of the items made were quick and simple, with very few ingredients. Let me know what recipes you would like to try!

The proof is in the dishes!

Trek for Yogurt

Upon waking on Saturday, Grayson (my 14 month old son) and I set out on a walk for our half-gallon of milk to make yogurt. That's the thing about blogging - there is a certain level of accountability that comes with it! We walked over the river and through the woods - well really, about a half mile - to Safeway. On the walk, I decided to use milk from our local dairy (Graff Dairy) so we continued on (another block or so). Thing about local vendors, they often want cash only - which I rarely have. After fishing for two dollars of quarters, dimes, and nickles, I then had to jump up and down shouting "hello!" (to which Grayson also started shouting "hi!") to get the employee's attention in the back. Apparently they don't have too many customers at 6:30am on a Saturday. $2.00 for half-gallon of milk - mission accomplished!

We still had to go back to Safeway for the other items on my list.

Seriously from Scratch

In thinking about my previous post about tzatziki sauce - I wondered how I could further make it from scratch. Yes - this is how my mind works. So - one could grow their own cucumbers, garlic, and dill, but since my garden consists of tomatoes and weeds - that is out for the time being. Once my garden benches are built, I will attempt to plant a fall bounty in redemption of the spring bounty that was not. Out of the remaining ingredients, my options are to grow an olive tree, a lemon tree, or to make yogurt. I am going with the latter.



It is amazing to me how we manage to take perfectly healthy foods and make them perfectly unhealthy - as is the case with yogurt. Stroll through the dairy aisle in any grocery store and you will find shelves upon florescently lit shelves of flavored, squeezable, drinkable yogurt. Some fruit-flavored yogurts contain as much sugar, or more, than an 8oz soft drink!



Yogurt is one of my favorite foods - especially with fresh fruit stirred in. My recommendation is to always buy plain (or buy plain for yourself and strawberry flavored for your husband, who is adamantly opposed to plain) in the largest container available. Then portion out 8oz. servings in your own reusable containers for cooking and eating.



Back to making yogurt - I am giving that a go this weekend. I will let you know how it goes next week. All you need for making yogurt is 8 cups (half-gallon) of whole-milk and 1/2 cup of live/active culture plain yogurt. About making your own milk - don't worry - I won't go there.

Tzatziki Sauce

It all started when I was craving a veggie pita from one of our local eateries - only to find they had gone out of business. What to do? I perused multiple cookbooks and websites to come up with a general recipe - and started tinkering. A little more lemon juice, a little less salt - and the end result? A pretty tasty sauce that has now become a staple of my summer menu! I recommend using Greek yogurt for a thicker sauce with better flavor. However, you can use plain yogurt (full fat or fat free if you are looking to save a few calories) and simply strain it for at least 8 hours using cheese cloth. (Cheese cloth is readily available and can be used over and over.) I lined a plastic container with two layers of cloth, put it in the fridge before leaving for work, and by the time I came home - it was ready. I grill up (well - my grill master husband grills up) a big batch of veggies - eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, asparagus. The more the better, and it is never the same twice. Of course - veggies from the backyard (or friends' backyards) are the best. Ahh - the best part - putting it all together! A whole wheat pita, spread on the tzatziki, pile on the veggies, top with toasted sesame seeds. YUM!

*WARNING: this may result in dragon breath depending on the amount of garlic used. I apologize in advance to my cubicle mates.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup (8 oz.) plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice OR 1/2 lemon, juiced (fresh is ALWAYS better)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (can substitute dried - see note above)

3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced

salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and enjoy! Keep refrigerated