cranberry-pear-walnut cake

My mom and I made this yummy cake while the kids were napping yesterday. We subtituted pecans for walnuts, cut back a bit on the sugar and skipped the caramal sauce alltogether. It was a great combination of textures and flavors- tart and not too sweet- all rolled into one. You can find the recipe here.

butternut squash soup with thai gremolata

I love soups this time of year, and this recipe sounded tasty, so I gave it a whirl-- so good, and so easy. We had ours with bread topped with pecan pumpkin butter.

butternut squash soup with thai gremolata

2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp. Asian chili sauce (Sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper) (I skipped this)
2 Tbsp. lime juice

1. In a 4 qt. slow cooker stir together squash, broth, coconut milk, onion, brown sugar, fish sauce, and Asian chili sauce.
2. Cover; cook on low for 4 to 5 hours (or on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours).
3. Use an immersion blender to carefully blend soup until completely smooth. Stir in lime juice. Ladle into bowls and top with Thai Gremolata. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Thai Gremolata:
In a bowl stir together 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, and 1 Tbsp. finely shredded lime peel. (i didn't have peanuts or limes, so i did without those, though peanuts would have been an excellent addition).

pumpkin sausage pasta

We first had this at the Wards' almost two years ago, I believe. It's from Simply in Season. And it fit the bill for a healthy and delicious fall produce meal. Pumpkin is one of my favorite cabinet staples this time of year. You can switch it out for winter squash too. We had salad with cranberries and almonds along with it.

From 10/24/2010 (by Eye-Fi)

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

1 lb chunky pasta-- cook, drain and set aside
1 lb sweet italian sausage- brown on med. high in a deep frying pan. remove meat and set aside. drain fat from fry pan and return to stove

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
add both to pan and cook until tender, about 3-5 min.

1 bay leaf
2 TBSP fresh sage (cut into very thin strips)
1 cup dry white wine or vegetable (or chicken) broth
add and cook until half of liquid evaporates (~2 minutes)

1 cup veg. or chicken broth
1 cup pumpkin or winter squash (cooked and pureed)
mix in. continue stirring until sauce starts to bubble. add sausage and reduce heat.

1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
coarse salt and pepper to taste
stir in milk. add seasonings and simmer 5-10 minutes to thicken. remove bay leaf. pour sauce over cooked pasta and toss over low heat for 1 min.
garnish w/ freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese and fresh sage leaves (opt)

Applesauce Bread (for the Wilsons)

We hosted our friends, Matt & Erica Wilson a few weeks ago and served this as one of our go-to company breakfasts. I love this recipe because it works well with or without raisins or nuts and is basically made with all pantry staples. It's perfect if you're not sure guests' taste preferences. And there's nothing like the smell of cloves and cinnamonin the oven.

Next time we'll make an extra loaf for their newborn son Johnny to enjoy!

1/2 c. canola oil
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves (I usually at least double that amount)
1/2 tsp all spice
1 cup. raisins and/or walnuts

In large bowl, beat oil, sugar, egg, and applesauce. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Slowly add to applesauce mixture. Add raisins and stir just until combined. Pour into greased bread ban. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

nutty pumpkin bread

From 09/14/2010 (by Eye-Fi)

Nutty Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps ground cinnamon (opt)
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves (opt)

Mix above ingredients together in a large bowl and make a well.

2 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin or winter squash
4 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup pecans or other nuts (chopped)
1 cup raisins or dates (chopped; opt)

Add into the well and mix just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into 2 greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 until toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, 50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen edges and turn the loaf out onto the rack to cool completely before slicing.

Muffin variation: Pour batter in greased mini-muffin tins; bake about 10 minutes.

From Simply in Season.

Glazed Pork Loin with Blueberry Salsa

My August meal for meal exchange. Our meal group was so excited for another way to use Michigan blueberries and the combination of flavors sounded interesting. I would say the result was good, but not great. The pork very easily dried out and my husband claims I should at least double the amount of salsa. Maybe we'll just stick to the blueberry salsa with chips for next time.

18 oz. fresh blueberries
1 medium diced red pepper
1/3 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 TBSP lime juice
3 TBSP plus 1/4 cup blueberry jam
2 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 center-cut boneless pork loin (3 1/2- 4lbs)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP each cumin and coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Coarsely chop 1 pkg. berries. Stir in whole berries, pepper, onion, cilantro, lime juice, 3 TBSP jam, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp chili powder.
3. Place pork in roasting pan and rub with oil. Combine cumin, coriander, remaining salt, remaining chili powder, and cinnamon. Rub over pork.
4. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Add water to pan. Lossely cover. Roast 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven. Combine 2 TBSP pan juices with remaining 1/4 cup jam. Brush over pork, return to oven. Rosat 5 min. LEt sit 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with salsa.

zucchini bread

I've made a lot of these loaves lately-- four are in the oven as I type. We had it a lot growing up. It's yummy and easy, and the kids love it.


Zucchini Bread

Preheat oven to 325

Beat 3 eggs until foamy
Add 2 cups sugar
a little more than 1/2 up oil
2 tsps vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini

In separate bowl:
3 cups flour (opt-- 1 c. whole wheat, 1 c. soy, 1 c. reg.)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup raisins

Add two bowls together. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour.

Sassy Hawaiian Pork Burgers

My meal exhange meal for August...a nice change from typical burgers

1 1/4- 11/2 lbs lean ground pork (the butcher at D&W offered to grind it for me)
1 8oz can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten
1 bunch scallions, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 TBSP seasoned breadcrumbs
4 TBSP teriyaki sauce
1 8oz can pineapple rings, drained

Combine the pork, water chesnuts, egg, scallions, ginger, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, and 2 TBSP of the teriyaki sauce: mix well.



Wet your hands and form the meat mixture into 8 patties.



Cook the patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat for aobut 10 minutes per side, basting occasionally with the remaining 2 TBSP of the sauce.



Top with pineapple rings and serve on rolls.

peach cherry pie

From 07/17/2010 (by Eye-Fi)

We've had some very fragrant peaches lately, which reminded me that I wanted some peach pie. Required it. So peach pie I made. And we've been getting a ton of cheapo cherries lately, so in they went. So delectable. The smell around here is heavenly.


preheat oven to 425

crust--

2 cups flour (hold out a little)
a dash of salt

in separate bowl:
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup ice water
whisk together until well blended

add to flour mixture and blend
divide into two equal balls and roll out for crust


filling--

5-6 peaches, sliced
1-2 cups cherries, pitted
1/4 flour
1/4 cup sugar
some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg)
a little almond extract

heat all ingredients together in a medium saucepan over med. and fill bottom half of crust.

bake at 425 for 30 min. lower to 350 and bake additional 15 min.

lime chicken with cilantro cream sauce and roasted zucchini

Lime chicken with cilantro cream sauce and roasted zucchini

I greatly simplified this recipe as it looked a bit too complex for my time, but it was still delicious. I also did without the chicken, since it's Friday.