An ode to Pumpkin

It has been way too long since I last updated, time has just seemed to fly by lately and now it is November!  I am getting very excited about all things fall. But of course living in Austin, fall is not really here yet even though it is November.  There was an amazing cold front the weekend we went camping and it was perfect camping weather.  But alas, it is in the very high 80's again now. All I want is to be able to wear a sweater on Thanksgiving, is that really too much to ask?  But cold or not, I march on doing fall-like things.  So maybe I did sweat a bit while carving pumpkins at out pumpkin carving party on Tuesday.  And maybe I do have to turn the AC down just a bit at work after I get a pumpkin spice latte.  At least I can rock a light cardigan at night.  

So, I know that pumpkin is being WAY over-marketed right now.  But even though it annoys some that everything is pumpkin flavored/themed right now, I must admit that I am totally the person that they are marketing to.  I love all things pumpkin.  Here are a few that I am jumping on the bandwagon about as I wait for cooler weather that will signal I can move on to even more fall-ish things like bonfires and cider.

Here is my super easy pumpkin soup.  I know there are lots of recipes like this out there, but this is the one my friend made in college and it was so easy that I have remembered it.  Other recipes call for roasted pumpkin, but this is the quick/easy/lazy way using canned pumpkin instead.  

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Coconut milk

1 Can pumpkin
3/4 cup coconut milk
5 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons cumin
a pinch of ceyenne pepper to taste
salt to taste
chopped green onion to garnish
toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

Heat pumpkin, broth, and spices to a simmer.  Add coconut milk and use an immersion blender to get a smooth texture.  Garnish with green onion and seeds and enjoy!

Pumpkin Carving Party

 We were all more excited about eating, drinking, and hanging out together than carving pumpkins.  Our designs may not be elaborate, but considering the fact that our cheap carving tools were breaking left and right, the finished products were pretty impressive. 

                            

Pumpkin Roll Cake

My Nana makes this recipe and I adore it.  My favorite kind of dessert is one that is acceptable to eat any time of day, and this cake fits the bill since it is great will coffee in the morning as well as on a dessert plate.  I wanted her recipe, and found out that my amazing cook Nana uses this tried and true recipe found at food.com

Enjoy Pumpkin Season!

Backyard wedding weather

The weather is finally getting a bit cooler in the evenings here in Austin, and it has made me think back to this time last year- our amazing backyard wedding in October.  Since our anniversary approaches, and I love this time of year, I thought I would share some photos from our big day.  Planning our wedding was so much fun, as was the big day.  It took place in my parents back yard in South Austin.  My grandmother made our wedding cake, our dear friends played music and performed the ceremony.  My cousin's amazing wife did all the flowers and table decorations.  The day of, both of our families came together to set up, decorate, eat Taco Deli tacos,dance, and celebrate.  

Photos by the amazing Christina of Love Exponentially Photography. 

Put an egg on it!

It has been awhile since I have posted due to the inevitable "back to school" rush.  Back to school means back to work in my house, and it has been hard to shake the summer off and get back into the swing of things.  

I don't know if I can ever be the productive weekend warrior that preps meals on Sundays, organized and labeled in cute containers for the week ahead.  Those people are out there and I applaud them. I aspire to be like them.  But alas I am tired and need to take baby steps.  

So I am learning that for evenings that I come home wiped out, and early mornings when I am still too foggy to think straight, my heroes have been eggs and avocados.  When in doubt, put an egg or an avocado on it- or both in the case of the avocado and egg on naan bread amazingness I made last week.  Another favorite of mine is avocado, egg, and black bean tacos.  These are perfect for the tired and ill-prepared cook since they can be a breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Until I am back on track from my summer of sleeping in and leisurely breakfasts, I will throw eggs and avocado onto things and always be happy with my meal.  

Black Bean Entree

 Austin has two restaurants that are open 24 hours and serve the perfect eclectic mix of Austin friendly foods for cheap prices: Kerby Lane Cafe and Magnolia Cafe.  People can get very intense with their loyalty about which of these similar places is better, but I have always felt equal love for them both. Each place has its unbeatable menu items.  At Kerby Lane it is the Kerby queso or the gingerbread pancakes.  At Magnolia, the MagMud queso, eggs zappatino, or the black bean entree. 

Of course theses were a staple in college for late night banana nut pancakes and coffee, but far beyond my college days I still think that they can't be beat.   I must admit that it was my husband who taught me to really appreciate the perfection of this simple (and ridiculously cheap I might add) black bean dish.  I learned traveling with him in Nicaragua that he really can have beans at every meal and never tire of them.  Being vegetarians, we eat a LOT of black beans and I can get burned out on them- but I never tire of this dish.

All this dish entails is mixing black beans with some garlic butter, and topping with amazing things. I use cheese, tomatoes, chives, avocado, and sour cream.  I aim to copy the original, but anything would be a great addition.  Maybe some marinated tofu or jalapenos.  At Magnolia they really do it right by serving this bowl with a cornmeal pancake.  What would I not have given to get my hands on cornmeal pancake ingredients yesterday.  But alas, it was 102 degrees and I was against the idea of leaving the house.  And guess what?  It was still an awesome meal without it.  Plan in advance when you try this easy recipe.  If not corn meal pancakes, some fresh corn bread will be perfect.  Enjoy!

Knit slipper project

I picked up this pattern book Whimsical Little Knits 3  when I was in Oregon earlier this summer at Websters, one of my favorite yarn stores in Ashalnd Oregon. I fell in love with this pattern for knit slippers and had this vision of me knitting piles of adorable brightly colored slippers that would be passed out at Christmas to everyone on my list.

Every summer I scheme that I am going to prepare amazing Christmas gifts in July, and this vision has never really come to life the way I envision it. I remember staying up until 1am on Christmas Eve frantically finishing an overly ambitious and started-too-late shawl for my mother.  Not my vision of gift prep perfection. 

I will now make the public statement that this year is

going to be different. I made myself a practice pair of slippers and now that I have figured out this fun and well written  pattern, I am going to start popping these out! We are going on road trip this weekend to my husband's family reunion, so I will seize this car time to start on my first giftable pair.

Please note that the practice pair is not giftable since one is bigger than the other.   I will probably re-do one of them, but for now I am ready to start on a new pair with some jewel tone teal yarn I am excited about working with.  Maybe I will fix up the practice pair for myself.  I think I might feel more giving if I have a pair for myself.  Hopefully mine turn out as cute as in this darling pattern.

       

Kale Salad

Before going out of town, we pretty much cleared out the fridge completely.  Therefore, coming home I had the perfect opportunity to try to stock up on super healthy stuff since some questionable items had been cleared out.  I bought 2 bunches of kale not having a recipe in mind for them, but was inspired by a friends amazing kale salad and thought I would find a fun way to mix it up salad style.

I remembered seeing a kale and chickpea salad recipe on a blog I really like, The Spontaneous Hausfrau - "A blog about (messy) cooking and (irreverent) domesticity."  Cute right?

I tweaked this recipe a bit based on what I had in the kitchen and it was excellent! The olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest dressing was so good, it was so simple and so flavorful.

Here is the link to original recipe from The Spontaneous Hausfrau  I didn't have any sundried tomatoes on hand like the recipe calls for, but I bet they would have been great. 
                                                           Ingredients:

For the dressing:

olive oil

lemon juice

lemon zest

*I added a little bit of ceyenne pepper for some spice 

Salad:1 bunch of kale

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

1 can garbonzo beans

kalamata olives

*I added some thai basil

Salsa shout out!

I am back from my last trip of the summer.  We went to New Mexico to stay with my aunt and uncle who are not only the best hosts ever, but also have a home on a mountain in the forrest.  It was a great place to be and we had a great trip.           

Something that we did well on our trip (besides hike, visit, and see amazing views of course) was eat.  My aunt is an amazing cook and makes home made bread at least twice a week. (!!!)  I can't believe that we ever ate out considering what she can do in her kitchen, but we did go out for Mexican food.  Being from Austin Texas, I am no stranger to tacos, mole, enchiladas, and queso.  But Mexican food is different than the TEX-Mex that we eat here in Austin.  (If you have not been to Austin, trust me when I say that tacos are part  of our daily diet at least once a week.  Especially breakfast tacos on the weekends.)  

So after enjoying green chile enchiladas with an egg on top, and even corn chowder with green chile, I came home loving the spice.  Lucky for me, our fridge was stocked with... homemade salsa.  A trio of salsas was created by our good friend who is not only culinary creative, but also really good at it.  Getting three kinds of homemade salsa was awesome gift that lead to some great food moments. (Thanks guys!) 

 We had finished off the grilled pineapple salsa and the jalapeño salsa before even leaving town.  But we still had an almost full jar of the Habanero salsa.  The only reason it was still left was that it is VERY spicy.  Delicious, but spicy.  Not something to be had in large spoonfuls, but something to be applied in "dabs."  So it has been dabbed on everything since we got back and we have really made in dent in our jar.    

Salsa is a staple in our house, but I usually stick to the "mild" or "medium" variety.  So I am feeling so much more adventurous and spicier now.  I am going to keep it up this summer and try some new varieties and see what else is out there!