The best season of the year. Pumpkin season.... wait, fall, yeah, fall!!!

Pumpkin season has now officially begun, and we are in the throes of apple season.  This couldn't be a better season, as far as I'm concerned!

I visited the Farmer's Market this morning, and was very disappointed that one of the ladies working at the booth selling pumpkins didn't know how to roast a pumpkin. Or toast the seeds. Or make a pumpkin pie without the cans. The cans are great. They are easy, tasty and available all the time. But... they are $1 to $3 depending on where you go, when you can roast and puree a fresh pumpkin for $.59 a pound (and I paid $1.18 for my pumpkin today, and I got the equivalent of about 5 cans of pumpkin. It's a no brainer to me..... And it's healthier, less processed, tastier, you also get the seeds (which are high in zinc) and roasting pumpkins make your house smell so gooooood!






Here's how:



Cut a pumpkin in half (sugar pumpkin, not the ones used to decorate)
Take the seeds out (set them aside. I will tell you what to do with them). Put pulp side down in a greased roasting pan, cover with tin foil.
Cook on 400 for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size.
It is ready when you can stick a fork easily through the skin.
Once it cools, you can scrape the pulp out of the skin, place it in the food processor, and there you have it......

The seeds: 

Once you get them all out, you're gonna need to clean them off. So, put them in a strainer, get all the orange pumpkin strings out, and rinse them completely.

Fill a pot with water and salt at a ratio of 1 cup seeds to 3 cups water, 1 T salt.
Bring to a boil, add the seeds and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
Drain, do not rinse, and allow to dry off for a few.
Spread them out on an olive oil greased roasting pan, or lipped cookie sheet.

Cook at 400 for 10-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool completely before eating or covering.
(I leave the shells on the seeds because they help to maintain the level of zinc in the seeds. Plus, it's so hard to get the seeds out without making a huge mess, so, I just don't bother. Also, don't brown for more than 20 minutes, that is considered the threshold for maintaining the maximum amount of minerals in the seed.) 








Now for the fun stuff!  What do you make with all this pumpkin?!? 

1. Mix a tablespoon of pumpkin into your oatmeal in the morning.
2. Add a cup of pureed pumpkin to tomato sauce in place of tomato paste.
3. Use as a substitute for eggs in most baked goods. Use 1 tablespoon pumpkin for each egg.
4. Add to meatballs or meatloaf
5. Stir into your favorite macaroni and "cheese" recipe

And tons of baked goods!!!!

For example: Breakfast cookies or Vegan Brownies

Here are a few:



Apple pie pancakes (the healthy way)

2 cups flour (I use Trader Joe's all purpose, but any kind is fine. GF even)
1 T cornstarch (optional, but makes pancakes less dense)

1 T brown sugar

1 T baking powder

1 T olive oil (coconut would be good too, melted)

1 t salt

3 T pureed pumpkin

1 1/4 cups coconut milk (if using canned, 1/2 cup coconut milk: 3/4 cup water)

2 t cinnamon

(if using GF flour, use 1/2 t xanthan gum)

2 apples, cored, not peeled, diced

Wisk together everything but apples. Fold in apples. 

Cook on medium heat on a griddle, or frying pan on high, sprayed with coconut or olive oil (coconut tastes better).

Once sides bubble flip (after about 2 minutes), cook for 3 more minutes, or until cooked through. 

Serve with dairy free butter, or coconut oil and Grade B maple syrup 

Crockpot Pumpkin Butter

Meat of 2 Sugar/Pie Pumpkins
2 apples, cored, diced 
1/2 cup Water

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (I used light brown)
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves(you can also use pumpkin pie spice, and add extra 1/2 tsp cinnamon)

Peel and chop the pumpkin, removing the seeds (set aside for later). 
In a large bowl, or using the Crockpot itself, toss the pumpkin, apple, sugar and spice.

Once combined, pour water over the top. 
Set to medium or low for 8 hours. When soft enough, transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Return to Crockpot.
Cook on high, uncovered, til no liquid remains. This typically takes me 4 hours or so, but keep an eye on it, so that it doesn't burn.
Allow to cool completely, and if you would like a smoother texture, blend a second time. I transfer mine to canning jars and refrigerate, but it can be canned as well. I've kept mine in the fridge up to 2 months without an issue. 

Pumpkin Apple Pie Bars

Crust Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 tablespoons palm oil shortening, coconut oil or dairy free stick butter

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup coconut cream (cold, water removed. See below)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 T coconut flour

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 T cinnamon

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1 t vanilla 

1 1/2 cup diced apple (including skin)

Topping extras

2/3 cup crust mix

1/2 cup brown sugar

Cinnamon and sugar to taste

Mix crust ingredients in a food processor til crumbly. Set aside 2/3 cup for topping. Press into the bottom of 2 8x8 pans (if using a 9x13 pan, cooking time will be longer, and the results are really better in smaller pans). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, and allow to cool.

Mix filling ingredients, except apple, with an electric mixer. Fold in apple. Pour into cooked and cooled crust mix. For topping, add the remaining crust mix to the brown sugar. Sprinkle on top. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until set.

Allow to cool before cutting, and once cut, refrigerate to allow them to set completely.

There will be more. I promise. Just wanted to give you a good start!

Apple Crisp, redone. Nut and dairy free :)

If you're like me, you never know what to do with all these apples once fall comes. Even if you've been excited for them alll  summer!
I came up with a quick easy apple crisp, that's both nut and dairy free. Did I mention easy. Oh its easy!

Filling:
3 medium to large tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks.
1 tablespoon raw sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Crumble:
3 packets apple cinnamon instant oatmeal (check to be sure the brand you choose is safe for your family.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup palm oil shortening, room temperature
1 tablespoon coconut flour

1. Preheat oven to 400. Combine filling ingredients. Toss to coat. Pour into 8x8 glass pan, greased lightly
2. Use the same bowl and mix oatmeal, brown sugar, coconut flour til combined
3. Add shortening and mix with a fork til it looks like beach sand. Pour over apples. Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered or until the sides bubble.

So good!

P.S. sorry about the photo quality. My flash wouldn't work! So sad!

Impromptu breakfast cookies.

I woke up this morning inspired to feed my kids something different for breakfast.... I had half a pureed pumpkin, some raw local honey I was itching to use, some farm fresh eggs and some homemade peanut butter. I decided I was going to make "cookies" to guarantee they'd eat them. To be honest, with my kids, it's all in the presentation. I won this time :)

I used about half the pumpkin, some hemp protein, a couple pieces vegan almond dark chocolate (80% cacao) chopped in the food processor and shaved coconut. I also didn't want to use traditional flour so I opted for a tablespoon or so of coconut flour to hold it all together and about a handful of gluten free oats. I added a bit of baking powder, only because I had no baking soda. I wasn't making this gluten free on purpose, it just turned out that way :)

I am actually in disbelief. They came out amazingly, and I just made it up as I went along. And, Anth and Delina each ate 4 of them with a pile of fresh local raspberries!! 

(Best part: There was a ton of pumpkin in them and my kids didn't even know. Hidden veggie score!)



Here's the recipe

1. 1/2 cup raw peanut butter (or sunbutter)
2. 3/4 cup pureed roasted pumpkin
3. 1/3 cup raw honey
4. 1 tsp baking powder
5. 2 fresh eggs
6. 2 tbs coconut flour
7. 1/2 cup hemp protein powder (I used this one)
8. 1 tbs ground cinnamon
9. 2 oz your favorite dark chocolate (chopped finely--in the food processor works best for me)
10. 1 cup gluten free oats
11. 1 cup unsweetened shaved coconut

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 2 cookie sheets (I use coconut oil). Combine all but last 3 ingredients and mix with electric mixer. Once combined, fold in last 3. Place on cookie sheets by the tablespoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Will still be soft when they are finished. For a crunchier cookie, Bake for another 2 minutes. 
Makes 2 dozen.

Enjoy.

8 ways we choose to be more green. You can too.

I've been trying to be more green (Aren't we all????), so I have made a few simple changes lately, that I'm hoping will at least take the edges off my carbon footprint.

1. We're using reusable sandwich bags and containers. I mean, this doesn't seem like a big deal, but to us, it's saving money, time and (hopefully) the planet. We have this one by Bumpkins and a bunch like it. They just go in the washer, and to the counter to dry. They make me so happy ;)

2. We're drying clothes on a rack. Either inside or outside. It works. Obviously, they smell better when dried outside in the sunshine on a hot, breezy day, but either way, amazeballs. And, even though it takes longer, who doesn't LOVE LOVE LOVE climbing into a clean bed with sunkissed sheets??

3. We're using castile soap. A lot of it. Also, not a big deal. But this stuff does everything. It cleans our bodies, toilets, floors, tables, sinks, clothing, dog, countertops and toys. I'm partial to this unscented one, so I can add my own essential oils, but they're all great. Natural ingredients, mostly organic, and they don't hurt the planet when going down the drain.

4. We changed our energy source. Use this link and put in your electric company and home information. It will make the switch for you. It's also cost effective if you choose the 20% fixed for 6 months option. Nothing about your life has to change, but you're going more green than you know. DO IT!

5. We're growing our own vegetables and herbs. Tomatoes, cilantro, basil, oregano and parsley are growing on my deck now, and I'm working on starting more. Also, supporting local farms, and family owned businesses. I get deliveries from South Shore Organics every 2 weeks, which are located locally and only use family owned and run farms. It adds to our local economy, which sustains our community. And the less the produce travels from the ground to your table, the better it is for you. Fact.

6. We're using natural skin care/sunblock. These 2 things are very simple to do, and decrease chemicals we put back into the earth. Shea moisture and Badger sunscreens are the simplest way I've found to do this. And NO ALLERGIC REACTIONS!!!!

7. We're using essential oils, coconut and almond oils to heal our family's ailments instead of medicine. Also, things like olive leaf, colloidal silver, vitamin d, c, e and zinc make life a lot easier, and are healthier for the environment than chemicals. We're not experts yet, and, tips are welcome :)

8. We're baking bread. Not all the time, and we're still learning. But I am doing it, and it's what counts.

I'm sure that there are more things I'm doing, and I'm not thinking of them now, but as you can see, these things aren't very hard. They're actually easy and enjoyable for the most part. And they're making me feel a bit better about how we live :)

Thanks for listening.

Cape Cod Allergy Friendly Restaurant Review.

I’ve been MIA. For awhile. A long while.

I took an LPN course to begin my journey to becoming a Midwife, and was really really caught up in the insanity of it.

But I’m totally back.

A few days after graduation, we left for a trip to Cape Cod. As many of you know, my son has food allergies (used to be soy, egg, dairy and wheat, but was cleared of a wheat allergy in February of this year), and travelling, eating out, and being far from home are all VERY difficult things for me to agree to do.  Considering it’s been about a year since we last ventured away (Sesame Place, which is surrounded by restaurants that are amazingly understanding of people with food allergies), we decided we’d do it.

My mom told me to look at Allergy Eats and find restaurants that can accommodate our situation, and I found a few. Considering I need to eat dairy free too, because Anth nurses, it can be a bigger challenge than if it were just his food that needs to be dairy free.

To say that I was impressed by the way these restaurants handled our situation would be a complete understatement. Each and every restaurant we visited went above and beyond to make sure that Anthony didn’t have a potentially life-threatening reaction. And I would recommend any of them to anyone looking to find a safe place to take their kids.

Our first day on the Cape, we went to Box Office Cafe in Chatham. They have a Vegan Menu and serve Daiya "cheese."  The kids had The Unforgiven pizza, without ranch dressing and I had the Reign of Fire, no bleu cheese, of course. Both with Daiya cheese. 

They even made us special chicken nuggets to be sure they were dairy free. We even tried some of their homemade granola, which lasted about 5 minutes, and was AHHHHMAZING.

The next day, we were on a quest for dairy free breakfast, and thought it would be more challenging. Keltic Kitchen in West Yarmouth had a line out the door, so we thought we were gonna have a rough time. We were sooo wrong. I looked on Allergy Eats, and found Idgy's, a small, storefront, 100% gluten free bakery and restaurant. We called to make sure that they could make dairy free things, and they told us they usually add milk to their pancake mix, but since it's dairy free, they could make it another way, and make it work. We got there, and were somewhat surprised to find that they had purchased Trader Joe's coconut milk in order to make our pancakes. Let me tell you..... DEFREAKINGLICIOUS. I seriously have never had such good pancakes, even at home. We even bought Vegan Coconut Lime Cupcakes and some almond crescent cookies to take to a cousin's house later that night, and were SOO impressed. We were so impressed that we ate there again the following day!!

That evening, we went to Outback Steakhouse in Hyannis and they cooked Anthony's burger, my steak, and both our sweet potato fries in saute pans separately from all the other food. They were happy to check on ingredients for us, assist us with the menu and make sure we were happy, throughout the meal. Katie was our waitress, and she was just amazing. The food was awesome, Anthony had no reaction, we were all happily stuffed.

Tuesday, we planned to go to the Box Office Cafe again, but sadly, they are closed Tuesdays, which I assume is because it's the slowest day of the week (I'm only complaining because we were leaving Wednesday morning, and I wished I could eat there again. Everyone needs a day off!!). I remembered visiting a Not Your Average Joe's in Norwell for an Allergy Eats event, and they were awesome. So we figured we'd give the one in Hyannis a try. Rich, the manager, was the best.ever. Tiffany was our server, and she was awesome. She originally came to our table with the cheese and garlic oil for the bread, but I stopped her in her tracks, and she immediately came up with an alternative for us, which was fantastic, by the way!! She deferred to Rich every time she wasn't 100% sure, and that made me so confident in the fact that they were actually taking care of us. Also, the chef, when I asked if we could give Anth some pizza, suggested we try something else, since he couldn't guarantee that cheese hadn't cross-contaminated all the food on the pizza station. Good looks, dude. For serious. I love that they weren't just trying to make a sale, but they were actually looking out for my 2 year old. Also, Anthony told Rich he had been asking for sausage the whole time we were on Cape, and being told he couldn't have it, so he really wanted one. He researched for a few, then got him what he wanted. The kid was on cloud 9. Also, when the lettuce wrap appetizer came out, it had red peppers on it, which Anth promptly ate. When I told Rich, he brought us a plate of them. I just can't say enough nice things about these people. So happy with this place!!!

Yesterday morning, our last morning on Cape, we finally found Keltic Kitchen to not be so busy we'd have to wait an hour. They were great. Anthony and I ate completely dairy free breakfasts, and were very pleased. Also, it was authentic Irish breakfast, complete with rashers, bangers, white and black pudding and brown bread (brown bread is not dairy free, so we had Udi's gluten free bread, but regardless, AHMAZING).

So, needless to say, this trip was a LOT less stressful than it could have been. And, I commend these places for doing what they do. We'll be back, don't worry. 

Back to school Monday to start classes toward my BSN, but I promise, I'll be around more often now that the hard part is over :)

Thanks for listening.