The pumpkin post is still on hold...

I have to get busy testing winter squash and pumpkin recipes, since I'm a firm believer in only sharing recipes that I love.  So in the meantime, I want to pass on these internet links of note:


Make your own pumpkin puree
Roasting Vegetables 101
Red Lentil Soup (I have yet to try this)
Pumpkin Spice Latte (ok, a treat, but something to try if you like these.)
Mollie Katzen's Eggplant, Green Beans, and Pumpkin in Curry Sauce (I need to find eggplant so I can try this, or maybe substitute another veggie)

Small victories

"Yet, to allow our children to do all the things they want to do, or to give them all the things they want, to make them "happy," is not always in their best interest."

This is from a book called Everyday Blessings:  The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn.  This seems like a no-brainer, but I believe many parents are afraid to take a stand on giving children food that is the best for their health.

Our culture feeds its children differently from adults. This would not be a problem if what we gave our kids was real food; however, often what we serve our kids is not healthy. Think McDonald's Happy Meals, Gogurt, cheetos, white bread, kool-aid (or fake lemonade, as if that's better), fruit snacks, ETC. My daughter was served this "hot chocolate" at a restaurant that was really a bunch of chemicals in a way-too-big cup:
  SWISS MISS HOT COCOA INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, MODIFIED WHEY, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HYDROGENATED COCONUT OIL, NONFAT MILK, CALCIUM CARBONATE, LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN.
CONTAINS: MILK.


We let her drink it in this case, but in the future I will ask the restaurant what kind of hot chocolate they serve.   Unfortunately she had a stomach ache the rest of the day....

I admit this is not easy.  It's incredibly frustrating to cook from scratch night after night only to have one of the kids basically eat rice, apples and bread.  So I'm celebrating the small victories that I've noticed in this area:  after switching to real maple syrup more than 5 years ago, my kids don't even like the artificial stuff.  My 3-year-old  was lapping up plain yogurt the other night that I'd set on the table for curry, no honey required.  My 8-year-old has  been asking to try bites of different pizza toppings,  like green pepper, mushroom, etc, foods she's resisted in the past. All 3 are slowly learning to enjoy soup.  This morning they were admiring the beauty of the whole pineapple and were anticipating how good it would taste as I was cutting it for their breakfast.

I am not writing this to brag but to encourage you as you buy and prepare nourishing food for your family.  What small victories have you noticed?  I'd welcome your comments.

Tomatoes!

IMG_1491.JPG, originally uploaded by trey_corene.

So what do you do when your neighbor brings you 4 pounds of late-season tomatoes at 7:30 am? I have not made tomato sauce enough to wing it, so I got out "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison, and figured out which sauce worked for me today. I chose the fresh tomato sauce, which took very little time; you wash and quarter the tomatoes, throw them in a big pot, add 1 T. chopped basil for each pound of tomatoes if you have it, and cook over med-high heat, covered, until the tomatoes break down. This takes from 10 -20 minutes. Then you pass them through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. If you don't want to use a food mill, you'll need to peel the tomatoes before you cook them.

Let cool and freeze if you don't need to use the sauce right away.
When you're ready to use the sauce, you can season it with crushed garlic or an herb that goes with the dish you're making.

Another way to prepare tomatoes is to roast them. This post talks about roasting them. I tried this delicious tomato basil soup a few weeks ago and thought it was as good as the one I'd had at French Meadow Bakery. My husband hates tomato soup, yet he liked it! I did not add the canned plum tomatoes, because I had plenty of fresh ones, and I think 1/4 cup oil is too much for roasting the tomatoes, especially if you roast them at a lower temperature. I added enough to coat the tomatoes lightly with oil.

IMG_1492.JPG, originally uploaded by trey_corene.

Here is Debra's sauce recipe: Peel and chop ( or put through a press) 2-4 cloves of garlic, grate 1 small carrot. In a dutch oven, or saucepan,saute garlic and grated carrots is about 2 TBSP. olive oil until fragrant ( about 2 minutes. Add 1 small-medium chopped onion. Saute until onions are translucent. Add 1/2 chopped green pepper/ When pepper is soft add 2-3 cans unsalted tomato sauce and 1 can, diced tomatoes. Add 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp, basil, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1-2 bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste. After a few minutes add 3-4 TBSP dry red wine. Simmer sauce on a low flame for at least 30 minutes uncovered. I often leave mine on all morning on a very low flame to let the flavors marry.

I (Corene) made this using my fresh tomato sauce instead of the canned tomato sauce.