Pumpkin & Pomegranate

A while ago, while on Facebook, I noticed that someone I had been friendly with at one time had blocked me from seeing them (and thus blocked himself from seeing me as well).  I honestly hadn’t taken much notice, as I had removed him from my friends list (long story and unimportant right now). I only noticed because mutual friends kept saying his name in response to things he was saying on Facebook, and I couldn’t see his posts. No biggie, but it did seem a tad dramatic to me. Well recently I was told by someone else that the he has told people his blocking of me had to do with him getting tired of me posting things about food on Facebook. Now, this is completely ridiculous because he only blocked me AFTER I unfriended him, so he wouldn’t be able to see my postings anyway. Plus I cut way back on my food posting about a year ago. This IS going somewhere, I promise you. Now, I could psychoanalyze this all I want on the basis that he did indeed block me because of the food, but that isn’t it. It is the scapegoat for a bigger issue clearly.

However, there are times when people *do* get annoyed when others post about food, talk about food, etc. In fact I believe it has been written up as one of those “annoying” facebook trends. Welp. My comment to that is if you like the person but don’t want to see their food posts, you might want to start looking inside yourself to see why exactly their food is such an issue to you. Is it because you feel they are pressuring you into eating a different way? Do you feel guilty because you don’t eat healthily? Are you judging their food as unhealthy? Or do you just not want to look at photos or postings about food? Do you actually like the person in question? Do you get just as upset by other photos that are fairly trendy like kids and pets? What is the core issue, because It isn’t the posting about food. It is the emotional response you seem to have to it.

If you feel that someone else’s food is harassing you then you really need to do an internal check to see what your issues are. Otherwise just LET IT GO.

And I fully admit to hiding people because of things they post, but it isn’t about them, it is about me. And I don’t block people because of it either. I have hidden people who post multiple times on a daily basis about how incredible their S.O. is. As much as I’d like to say it is because it just gets tedious, and “The Lady doth protest to much”….it probably has more to do with me being single. I’m pretty self aware. However, I haven’t ever unfriended someone or blocked them for it. I just hide them.

I like to gauge things by the amount of feedback I get on something. I have had more people comment on my random food posts in a positive manner than I ever have negative. But you know, it’s ok. I get it. When you are unhappy with yourself you feel the need to trash others. That’s pretty textbook.  I’m not immune from this, I have my bad days, but I am working on having less of those because it is a very unattractive quality and it really shows off insecurity.

Moving right along, we get to something else I have encountered. People who will try to get you to eat the food they are eating just so they won’t feel guilty for eating it themselves. This is all too common. A dear friend of mine has lost 45 lbs recently, and asked me about a similar issue, when someone asks you what you are doing that is working, then you respond, and then they tell you what they are eating and want you to sign off on it. They start to defend their choices to you, and for some reason need you to agree that their diet is “ok”. Look, if it works for you that is wonderful. But don’t expect me to jump on board. I know what works for me. Also, if it isn’t working, and you are still defending it…that is just an excuse. Get rid of the excuses. Be happy the way you are, or make a decision to change things. That’s how it works.

I get a lot of grief for the way I eat.  My choices are not made to make others feel bad about their choices. It has nothing to do with anyone but me. I now what works for my body, and I know what makes me feel good. You are perfectly free to make your own food choices, and i won’t comment on it unless you ask me for my advice. But if you DO ask me, I will tell you my opinion, for what it’s worth.

Ok, so that is my soap box for the day! And here is part of my lunch. This has been common in my house of late as I have been incredibly busy!

Kale, Squash, Zucchini, onion, and garlic with a little Olive Oil

I topped it with 3 pastured eggs from the ladies in Woodinville. Absolutely delicious.

Hope you are having a great Summer!

hello all! I get my first CSA box starting next week and I am hoping that will inspire some new recipes. I have been in a bit of a cooking rut lately, and mostly have been eating the same old stuff. BUT maybe with Summer things will change!

The only new thing I have been including with any frequency is local goat milk yogurt. I have spoken with my naturopath about some of my body stuff and this seems to be something that might help me. Apparently goat milk is healthier than cows milk, especially if you are using pasteurized dairy. I do understand the ethical issues with consuming any animal products, but recently I have had to reevaluate my own personal beliefs about life and my own personal ethics and so I have added goat milk yogurt, and I do my best to keep it from small local businesses. No one is perfect, we can only do what we feel is best for each of us.

xoxoxox

Hope all is well with you!

I know I am nearly a month late for St. Paddy’s Day, but I’ve been a bit busy.

Speaking of busy, HELLO! It has been months since my last blog post. Lots of stuff going on in my life, including a lack of interest in blogging! Not because I haven’t wanted to write, but because I haven’t been as interested in fiddling with things in the kitchen and making up new to me recipes. I have been doing a lot of random soups, veggie roasts, and the like. Not a lot of fabulous recipes. I haven’t even read a food blog in about 6 months. I apologize to my friends who put a lot of time and effort into their blogs. It just got a bit overwhelming for me, and I needed a break. Also this will be my last blog post where I apologize for not writing or reading. Ultimately no one really cares and it is dull. So on to the deliciousness.

I decided not to go out for St. Patrick’s Day this year. My birthday is the day after and usually I spend both days celebrating. This year I decided a quiet dinner at home would be better, and I donated the $10 I would have spent on drinks to the Red Cross and Tsunami relief in Japan. Not a lot, but every little bit helps.

On St. Patrick’s Day I had my best friend over for dinner and I made a grain-free version of Irish Soda Bread and a vegan shepherd’s pie. Followed by Jameson 12 year Reserved stewed apples, raisins, and pecans. I am indeed a whiskey girl.

Today the soda bread!

This is obviously not traditional at all, but even adding to the non-tradition is my love of the version that comes with caraway seeds and currants. Neither is truly traditional, but both are delicious. I didn’t have any currants so I made do with delicious raisins. This was perfect with dinner, and also made a fantastic breakfast the next day.

Irish Soda bread

Ingredients:

• 1 C. Quinoa Flour
• 1/2 C. Garbanzo Bean Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1.5 tsp. Caraway Seeds
• 1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 C. Water plus 2 Tablespoons
• 1/2 C. Currants

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Sift or whisk the flours, baking soda, and sea salt together.
3. Add the caraway seeds.
4. Mix in the oil
5. Slowly add the water and stir to combine, adding just enough to create a doughy consistency, but not too much that it becomes terribly sticky.
6. Add the currants and knead on a lightly quinoa floured surface to combine.
7. Form into a ball and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
8. Carve an “X” in the top of the loaf and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean

Hello everyone! Sadly I haven’t been doing much recipe writing of late as I have been pretty darn busy with some other things. One of the things is my new Etsy shop! I have recently has a spike in my creative inspiration and I have been working on quite a few visual art projects. A few of my pieces are for sale now, and there will be more to come. I have also listed some of my truffles for sale as well!

Remember these?

Well now you can purchase them from me for the holidays (or for anytime) at my Etys shop Anam Cara Inspiration

I will have other things added all the time, and feel free to “Like” my shop on Facebook! Anam Cara Inspiration

Hope you are all enjoying a cozy and happy holiday season! <3

Right before Halloween I headed over to a nearby produce market to check out their pumpkin selection. Obviously I love pumpkins, and to my delight they had my FAVORITE variety! The Fairytale pumpkin. This baby is a French variety and was the inspiration for Cinderella’s coach. I love it so much I keep pondering a pumpkin tattoo. I was quite ecstatic when I saw a big pile of them at the produce market. I quickly grabbed the biggest one I could lift and walked away with a 42 pounder. I will not let this darling go to waste. I have already planned pies, breads, and for a friend…pumpkin empanadas. Matt told me I should name it, but I don’t name things I eat. I do photograph them though.

Is it not a work of art?

I haven’t cooked it up yet, but that will be happening this weekend. For the pumpkin bread here I cut open a sugar pie pumpkin, removed the seeds, and baked it in a 400° F. oven for about 30 minutes. I then scooped out the meat and put it in a strainer to drain out the liquid. Then I went to work on mashing it. You can also blend it, but I couldn’t be bothered (another thing to clean). I am fairly certain that one rib of pumpkin will make an entire pie, so there will be plenty of pumpkin in my freezer this winter. Hopefully there will be pumpkin curry up next!

I do apologize for my lack of posting on fellow bloggers’ blogs. I haven’t been reading any blogs lately as I have been consumed with other things in my life. One of the biggest things is my Etsy store which will be up and running soon. I will be selling my art there and I am really really excited about it. As soon as it is put together I will get a link here on my blog to it. I have also been doing a lot of reading, been going out to more shows, and really just getting out there into life. I do have a recipe backlog so that is also something to look forward to. Hope you are all doing well! It is rainy in Seattle today and all I want to do is cozy up with a hot toddy and watch movies by the fire!

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Quinoa Flour
• 1 C. Garbanzo bean Flour
• 2 tsp. bakind Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 T Stevia Powder
• 1 1/3 C. Puréed Pumpkin
• 1 C. Fig Preserves
• 3 Pastured or backyard Eggs
• 1/2 C. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 C. Cranberries
• 3/4 C. Chopped Walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, fig preserves, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Pour batter into a large loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes.
6. Let cool on wire rack.

Two weeks ago I went to the Farmer’s market in the University District here in Seattle. I brought with me $20 cash to buy 2 apples, an onion, and some collard greens. i have been getting my CSA box and so I just needed to supplement. Well, within 5 minutes I spent half my money on  1/4 lb of wild Porcini mushrooms and a pint of white cranberries. The gourmet in my just couldn’t resist! I also bought an organic kabocha, some tiny organic sweet onions, and yes I did get my collard greens. Luckily my mother picked up some apples for me so I could make German Red Cabbage.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the white cranberries, White cranberries are the same as red cranberries, but they have been hidden from the sun by leaves and somehow are sweeter than the red. Of course sweeter also meant more expensive. I had to try once :-)

I have been drinking a lot of breakfast smoothies lately, and I am kind of sick of them. it is difficult to have something that cold first thing in the morning when you have just spend 10 mights warming yourself up with the blow dryer. So to combat the chill, and to have something tasty to munch on while i drink my coffee in the morning I decided on a loaf of bread. Completely in love with this bread too. the sweetness was perfect for me as my taste buds have changed and I only like a hint of sweetness. If you don’t have fig preserves you might want to try substituting with more apple sauce, or even another all fruit preserve. As always, I make my fig preserves by cooking down fresh figs until they reach preserve consistency. I keep it all in jars in the freezer. This would make an excellent bread for the Holidays, and would also work with muffins.

Pecan and White Cranberry Bread
Ingredients:

• 1.5 C. Buckwheat Flour
• 1/2 C. Garbanzo Bean Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon
• 3 Pastured or Backyard Eggs
• 1 C. Fig preserves
• 1/2-3/4 C. Apple Sauce (add more if the mixture isn’t wet enough)
• 1/2 C. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 C. White Cranberries (sub red if needed)
• 1/2 C. Pecans, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl sift or whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, fig preserves, 1/2 c. apple sauce, olive oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding extra apple sauce if necessary. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Mixture should be wet but not runny.
5. Fold in the cranberries and pecans.
6. Spoon into a greased loaf pan (or silicone pan) and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If making muffins check them at 30 minutes to see if they are finished.
7. Let cool on a baking rack slightly before serving.

I bet you all thought I had run away and joined the circus :-) I went through quite a rough period, 2 breakups in a span of 4 months. A huge amount of growing, soul searching, etc. and now I am actually feeling like blogging again. There has been a lot going on with me. I have been cooking throughout, but most of it wasn’t anything new and so not as blogworthy. To be honest the food blogging can be a tad stressful, so I am officially taking the stress off of myself. yes it would be lovely for this to be my career, but right now I am not really making money ($3 every 4 months or so doesn’t count), and so I am taking the stress off of myself. If I had the time to devote to cooking that I’d like, then I would have a blog posting a day. The reality is that I have a day job and also need to have a balance with a social life and time to keep myself healthy. I know that none of you put stress on me to blog everyday, but when I read other food bloggers posts I do it to myself. Honestly I wish I did not have to work at my current job to support myself, but I don’t have anyone else bringing in any income to help out and so I have to make do. My passions will have to remain hobbies for the time being. So, it isn’t that I don’t want to, it is that I need a balance to be healthy, and that is what is really important in the end. Health and happiness!

Matt is still in my life. He is my best friend, but we are not dating each other and we won’t ever again. I think deep down we were always better as friends, and that is ok! We came together at a time in our lives when we really needed a relationship, and that relationship has evolved into a truly wonderful friendship. But just so you don’t get confused….we are JUST friends. We still spend a lot of time together, and honestly he is like a sibling to me. We call each other our “twin”.

Ok and now on to the food!

It is my favorite time of year and that means pumpkin & pomegranate season (and I have been making a lot of Pumpkin Stew):-) But it also means I am in the mood for a family favorite…German red  cabbage. My father’s side of the family has a lot of German Heritage and so I grew up eating a lot of red cabbage. That is pretty much the only German dish I could eat because everything else was heavy on the meat. My aunt was always kind enough to make me my own pot that was mad without bacon fat. I have since adapted the recipe to be made without cane sugar, and last night I adapted it even more because necessity is the mother of invention. I had a HUGE head of cabbage….as in it was the size of my actual head.

Because of this I only used half of it. If you are using a normal sized head of red cabbage then use the whole thing.

This darling came in my CSA box from Helsing Junction Farms. I LOVE my CSA!!!

The big change in my recipe this time is that in the past I have used date sugar and dried currants in my recipe. This time my Whole Foods was out of dried currants, and so I picked up a jar of 100% fruit black currant preserves. Worked like a charm! The grape juice was sweet enough so i didn’t need to add date sugar, and honestly I think I prefer the taste.

Look for this one if you can, but if you can’t you can use some date sugar, dried currants, or maybe even grape juice…or an extra apple.

The finished product isn’t exactly gorgeous for pictures, but it is delicious and perfect on a crisp cool Autumn night.

German Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Sized Onion, chopped
• Olive Oil
• 2 Tart Apples (I used golden delicious but granny smith are my usual variety), chopped
• 1 Large Head of Red Cabbage
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. Allspice (ground)
• 1/4 tsp. Cloves (ground)
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1-1 1/2 C. Water
• 1 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 Jar (5 oz.) Black Currant Preserves

Method:

1. Sautée the chopped onion in a heavy bottomed pot with a little olive oil until translucent.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour.

*If you need a little more sweetener, add a tablespoon more of the preserves.

I get a CSA box, and I also find myself wandering aimlessly through the farmers markets pretty frequently. Rarely do I have a recipe when I go, and I don’t ever know what my CSA box will have it it until the day it arrives. So usually I just pull random things out of the fridge at night and see what I can come up with. I like recipes, I do, but I don’t like feeling tied to them and can be a fairly intuitive cook.

Last week I had some golden beets, carrots, onion, and zucchini from my CSA box, and I bought a bunch of kohlrabi from the farmers market and came up with these. There really isn’t a recipe per se. I just cut them up, toss them with some olive oil and then roast on 425° F until “done”. Now that could mean anything to anyone, but I like my beets a little caramelized. Oh and I also added some heavenly Ellie Bluebell rosemary sea salt to the Kohlrabi-onion pan….delicious!

Roasted beets & carrots

Roasted Kohlrabo and onion slices

The zucchini was similar, but I also sprinkled the slices with some shawarma seasoning.

Trifecta

Last night I put the rest of my CSA box goodies to good use (1 baby bok choy, 1 onion, some green beans) and then added 4 blueberry peppers, 2 cloves sliced garlic, and some squash blossoms I got at the farmers market. I had never had squash blossoms before, and I think that people are missing out when they stuff them! They are so delicate and have this lovely mild-asparagus like flavor. I highly recommend that you just sautée them in a little oil, garlic, and onions next time. Just so you can really taste them. I often like simplicity so that I can really taste each ingredient. I did top this dish off with vegan Parmesan, and it was wonderful.

Hello all! I apologize profusely for not posting something in the past 2 months (or around that, for shame!). I have had a lot going on in my life. Some good, some bad, and I am not sure that I will be wanting to share most of it with the internets.  I will be posting intermittently, but the blog will continue! And now for some muffins.

Oh and I seem to have accidentally deleted the photo of these…and I just polished off the last one for breakfast. Crap! Oh well, they were GORGEOUS I promise you.

As always, I made the fig preserves by just cooking down some fresh figs in a pot until they are the consistency of jam. Sometimes I just quarter them and leave the skin on so they are really chunky, and this still works well!

Cherry-Fig Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C. Quinoa Flour
• 1/2 C. Almond Flour
• 1/2 C. Garbanzo bean Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 C. Fig preserves
• 1 C. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Pastured or Backyard Eggs
• 1 1/2 C. Halved Cherries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the fig preserves, olive oil, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk together to combine.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fully incorporate.
5. Fold in the cherry halves.
6. Spoon into greased muffin pan (not jumbo sized).*
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
8. Let cool on a wire rack.

*I use a silicone muffin pan which makes the process a lot cleaner!

Since I haven’t been writing posts I thought I would at least show you some things I have been consuming. Many of these things I have eaten a few times in the past month. I go through food phases and right now I am in a wrap phase. I am completely addicted to these bad boys!

That would be raw collard greens, refritos, avocado, and my favorite hot sauce. I have had it almost every day for the past 3 weeks. It is my burrito option and I LOVE it! Sometimes I add tomato or peppers to the mix too.

I made veggie filled Buckwheat Galettes about 3 weeks ago. I will have the galette recipe for you soon!

This salad was made with butter lettuce from my CSA box, strawberries from my CSA box, sprouted and dehydrated almonds, and vinegrette made with real balsamic vinegar and some extra virgin olive oil. Seriously delicious. The best strawberries I have ever tasted too!

Another salad, this one made with butter lettuce, persimmons, cashews, and a dressing made with some blood orange balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, a little Dijon mustard, and some black pepper.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies that are sweetened just with figs

Creamed buckwheat with granny smith apples and almond butter….and coffee with MimicCreme of course ;-)

Grilled Garlic tops…absolutely delicious. Like a combo of asparagus and garlic.

Vegan soft serve from Healeo that they made with coconut milk! And some fresh organic strawberries. Sometimes I indulge in something with sugar in it, but it isn’t often. Totally worth it on a really hot day in Seattle though.

My own “Ice cream” which I topped with my friend Alison’s new vegan and gluten free cookies! Skydottir Epic Cookies to the rescue! Hopefully in the future she will eventually be able to sell them online, but right now they are available in a few Seattle shops. Sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup! They are pure heaven.

And a juice made from kale, cucumber, apple, celery, and some E3Live just for kicks! At the fabulous Healeo of course.

I hope you are all doing very well. I hope to be writing posts more frequently, but for right now you will just have to be patient with me! Hope you are having a fabulous Summer!

<3

Marissa