PHEW!
These past two weeks have been a whirl wind of craziness! With a cruise, wedding planning and business picking up, I apologize for the delayed blog. But tonight, I vowed to stay in and relax by cleaning and baking 
Sitting in the silence, drinking peppermint tea while my muffin bake-nothing in the world could make me leave my cozy home right now. It looks as though it’s snowing leaves, the chilly rain in the 60 degree weather and the of wind kicking up, blowing in to remind me it’s fall!
Fall is my time…the time of the year that I know it will be ALL the time in Heaven. I enjoy everything about it, I honestly was sad to leave it and go to the bahamas last week; I just didn’t want to miss a single moment of this beautiful time of the year. Getting back on track with all the amazing harvest cooking I wanted to do, I finally go ahold of Chris’s (my fiancés) moms pumpkin muffin recipe. I have tried and enjoyed some pretty amazing pumpkin muffins, but these blow every one of them out of the water. Normally, I like to substitute half the oil for applesauce. half the AP flour for WW….but no not in the recipe. I even added caramel nips to the last batch. Simple & easy and OHH SO TASTY!
So heres to fall, family, and friends!
3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
4 egg whites
2 c. organic pumpkin
2/3 c. water
3 c. AP flour
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. nutmeg (freshly grated please)
1/2 t. baking powder
* Mix all wet ingrediantes into a large mixing bowl.
* Mix all dry ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
* Add dry to wet and mix well, but be sure not to overmix!
*Bake at 325-degrees for 20-30 minutes.
Buy Local, Cook Fresh, Eat Pure,
Amanda
I decided to take a break from menu planning and packing for our trip up to traverse city this weekend to share this tasty recipe with you. And also, thinking about all the wedding planning things we need to get done, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed and excited and writing about food always calms me down. With my stack of favorite fall recipes and new ones I want to try, I start to feel worried that fall won’t last long enough for me to cook through the whole stack! I could go forever making dishes with pumpkin, maple, cinnamon and nutmeg; this is by far my favorite time of year-to cook and eat The crispy fall air, cloudy days, and beautiful colors all make this such a cozy time to stay in and cook and bake! Speaking of, I cannot wait to make my dear friend Caroline Pumpkin Oatmeal and Mocha coffee friday morning!!!
On to what this post is really about…Wheat Berry Salad. I have been following the blog “101 Cookbooks” for about a year or so now, and I just love it, so much that I went and ordered Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson (the girl who writes the blogs cookbook) on Amazon. And it so happens to be one of my most favorite cookbooks ever now; with the new grains, vegetables, and protein recipes I can’t get enough of the different flavors and texture. The wheat berry salad is one of those recipes I ate for three days after, and still enjoyed it just as much. I bought my wheat berries at Harvest Health in Cascade, MI but I am sure you can find them at any whole food grocery store. Take the time to cook the berries-it’s totally worth it! Having something other than rice, potatoes or quinoa is a welcome for me.
Oh and p.s: Wheat berries are whole wheat kernels. They look like thick, short grains — similar to brown rice. When boiled, cooked wheat berries have a chewy bite and subtle nutty, earthy flavor. They’re sturdy enough to handle bold salad dressings and still delicate enough to taste delicious with some milk, honey and cinnamon.
Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus, Toasted Pine Nuts, Feta, and Spinach
from Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson, Celestial Arts, 2007
2 cups soft wheat berries, rinsed
6 cups water
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt, plus more as needed
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 generous handfuls spinach leaves, stemmed and well rinsed ( or I used my favorite arugula from Vertical Paradise Farm)
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Combine the wheat berries, water, and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until plump and chewy, about an hour or so. The berries should stay al dente, and the only way to be sure they’re done is to taste a few. Drain and season to taste with more salt.
To make the dressing, combine the orange zest and juice, lemon juice, and shallot. Whisk in the olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Toss the hot wheat berries with the spinach, pine nuts, citrus dressing, then top with the feta. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with a bit more salt if needed
Serves 4 to 6.
Buy Local~Cook Fresh~Eat Pure
Amanda
Hi Everyone!
I promise to get to a recipe post tomorrow-I’m thinking the wheat berry salad, that everyone has been asking me about! But for now check out this article written on The Fresh Chef.
http://www.examiner.com/x-22545-Grand-Rapids-Healthy-Food-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Save-time-in-the-kitchen-with-The-Fresh-Chef
Buy Local, Cook Fresh, Eat Pure
Amanda
Hello Fellow Foodies!
Today was my first real “harvest” cooking day at one of my clients home. Perfect weather with a crisp chill in the air, the heat inside to keep me warm and of course XM coffeehouse playing for me to sing and dance to while cooking! My client had pulled all her herbs, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, and carrots before the first frost last night, so I came into her home roaring and ready to make some delicious chili! Nothing speaks fall like chili-and anything pumpkin! I normally like to use turkey, chicken, or ground beef but this was a wonderful and much healthier way to get some red meat into your diet. Bison or Buffalo meat has a rich, beef-like taste. Being lower in cholesterol and calories yet higher in iron and protein makes buffalo a perfect beef substitute for the health-conscious, or those on restricted red meat diets. In fact, buffalo has less cholesterol than chicken with the skin removed or even most fish! The sweet smell of peppers, onions and chili powder filled the home, and all it needed was a splash of red wine to top it all off! Not to spicy, but certainly an amazing healthy lunch for both my client and myself
Try it out, you can pick Buffalo meat up just about anywhere now days, I promise you’ll love it, its a great warm your bones kind of meal and can be made quickly.
Bison Chili
2 c. diced red onion
1 sweet chili pepper
1 habanero pepper (feel free to use whatever kind of pepper you prefer, these are what came from her garden)
1/2 diced celery
1 c. diced bell pepper
5 cloves minced garlic
1 pound ground bison
1 small jar chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T smoked paprika
splash dry red wine or beer would be great too!
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomato
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
12 oz Tomato juice
- Sauté onions, peppers, celery, bell pepper and garlic together with 2 tablespoons olive oil until translucent. Splash in red wine and add bison, seasoning and saute together 10 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Add tomato, beans and vegetable juice and let simmer 20-40 minutes, depending on how much time you have.
- Serve topped with your favorite toppings-sour cream, yogurt, cilantro, cheese. Or my favorite is to serve it over cooked rice or mashed potatoes!
Buy Local-Cook Fresh-Eat Pure
Amanda
Hello World! I have been so excited to get this up and running so I can start my own little corner of the internet! Sharing some of my favorite recipes, food experiences and stories. Hopefully a nice autumn-y post to come!
Thank you Caroline!!
