Cake, Cookies, and Brownies...Squash Brownies?

They're sweet. They're orange. They're brownies! Orange brownies? Yep. Orange squash brownies! I know what all you parents and kids alike out there are thinking: EWW! Nope. They're so so so good! I only tried it with pumpkin puree, so I don't know if it's good with acorn squash or pumpkin spice coffee. 

Brownies are sweet, but not very healthy. They're usually just a once-in-a-while snack. But these brownies are sweet like regular ones, and you're getting your veggies! Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Plus, they use whole wheat flour (even though they also require regular all-purpose flour, too). AND they have applesauce. 

Here is the recipe for these delicious treats:


Pumpkin Squash brownies

You Need:

• 2 cups of pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin puree
• 1.5 cups brown sugar
• .75 cups TFM Unsweetened applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• .5 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.

In a bowl mix pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and salt.

In another bowl, sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix until slightly thicker than the consistency of milk, add chocolate chips and walnuts if you so desire. Pour in cake pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Enjoy! 

Carmel Apple...Bits?

Carmel apples.YUM, right? But when you eat the outer shell, all you have left is plain old apple. BORING! Plus, they're not very healthy for your body. Ways to change both:

• Make the caramel yourself without high fructose corn syrup (recipe below post)!
• Chop the apples to bite size and dip into caramel for an even proportion

I'm not saying you HAVE to make the carmel, just suggesting that you try it out for a change. Go out to the store, buy that disgusting store caramel, What do I care? EVERYTHING!!! Why would a person EVER do that?!? That stuff is FULL of high fructose corn syrup. Also, maybe freeze the apple chunks before dipping. It helps the carmel to stick to the apple (but don't worry about it if you're just dipping and eating right away). It isn't technically an "Oh, I'll make caramel apple bits today" kind of thing, so set a time of day to do it. If you follow the recipe EXACTLY, though, you will have a tasty caramel treat in about...tick, tick, tick...20 minutes. So try it (but make sure you have every ingredient, as always)!

Caramel Sauce                                                                        *makes 8 to 10 servings*

Get out a small, heavy saucepan and place in it:

       1 cup of sugar                                                                       

Pour evenly over the top:

       1/4 cup water

Set over medium-high heat and swirl saucepan gently by the handle until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear. Avoid letting the syrup boil until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat to high, cover the saucepan tightly, and boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil the syrup until it begins to darken around the edges. Gently swirl the pan by the handle until the syrup turns a deep amber and begins to smoke. Remove from the heat and add:

       8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Gently beat until the butter is incorporated. Stir in:

       1/2 cup heavy cream

If the sauce becomes lumpy, set the pan over low heat and stir until smooth. Turn off the heat and stir in:

       2 teaspoons vanilla

       pinch of salt

Serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 month; it will become solid. Reheat in a double boiler or in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, adding water if it is too thick.

We poured ours into a fondue pot and dipped the pieces into the warm caramel. Yummmm! 

Oh, and Happy Halloween from Super Mario!

Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin...Bread?

 The Pumpkin. Autumn's favorite squash/fruit. What do you think of when you hear the word"Pumpkin"? I think of Pumpkin pie, Jack O' Lanterns (My last post) and Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread? I know what you're thinking. What's that? It's a delicious half-cake half-bread dessert with a semi-strong taste of pumpkin and cinnamon with chocolate chips, raisins/crasins (cranberry-raisins), dates, walnuts and other things. Once you try it, there's no stopping the addiction. Let me tell you what we did to make this delicious treat:

• Bought pie pumpkins at local pumpkin patch (proceeds went to charity and cost less than at a grocery store)
• Cooked them down and froze them in 2-cup portions to be used for pumpkin bread and/or pumpkin pie

We got the recipe from Joy of Cooking, but added the chocolate chips and added  chopped dates. This recipe is delicious plain, toasted, with butter/peanut butter, but best hot, fresh out of the oven. Try it. TRY IT. TRY IT! TRY IT! You'll love it.

Mr. Jack O. Lantern

Okay, I admit it--fall's here. But it's not all bad! Sure, you have to get back to the same old school routine, but Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming up! Halloween. That spooky night, also called All Hallows Eve, where kids all over the world dress up in costumes and go from door to door, collecting candy with, you guessed it, Jack-O-Lanterns everywhere. Of course, you want to have your Jack-O-Lanterns ready by All Hallows Eve, so you carve it earlier. That is exactly what I did over the past weekend. Kids, you want to have a parent do the little details, but don't be afraid to do a little carving, too. For those of you who have never carved a pumpkin before, It's not hard, but if you do it wrong, it can result in frustration. Try not to do too many little details. It also doesn't take too long, but try to set out a 45 min-1 hour period to do the project. If you haven't done this traditional Halloween project before, I encourage you to try it. If you have, do it again. For a yummy snack, roast the pumpkin seeds that you find. You should love this project!

  



*TIP: WEAR DISHWASHING GLOVES.*

                                                      

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!

I can't believe summer's over, can you? Back to school, where you have to learn for 8 hours of the day and then, come home and do homework for an hour. But just to remind myself of the glory of summer vacation, I like to have a glass of lemonade. MMMMMmmmmmm, lemonade. Yeah, I know what all you parents out there are thinking: "Lemonade is just sugar water and citrus, you don't need that in your body!" Well, that may be true, but the disgusting processed kind from a packet just won't do. It's unhealthy, and plus, as I said, in the fall and winter, lemonade is supposed to remind you of summer! The packet kind just reminds me of a bitter, tasteless season that doesn't exist. So, we make it homemade! It's delicious, and it's a little bit better for your body. All you need is lemons, ice, simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) and regular water. Try this recipe the next time you want to enjoy the glory of summer before it comes:

You Need:

• 1-1 and 1/2 lemons
• simple syrup
• water
• ice (optional) 
• a cup

Procedure: 

1. Make simple syrup, then put it on the stove and bring it to a boil. YOU MUST LET THE SIMPLE SYRUP COOL COMPLETELY.

2. Pour ice into cup.

3. Roll lemon(s) and cut them in half. Then, juice them and pour the remaining lemon juice into your cup.

4. Add simple syrup and water to your desire.

5. Enjoy!

Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine

I've never been so Grateful for a snack! Devils on Horseback are dates stuffed with an almond and then wrapped in bacon. Dates are an autumn seasonal fruit that is high in vitamins A and K, iron, potassium, fiber and anti-oxidants. An almond is a crunchy nut that is low in saturated fat and high in calcium, folic acid (HELLO PREGNANT LADIES), magnesium and phosphorus. And then there's bacon. Bacon is not so good for you, but it is soooo good. Actually, you can make the bacon part of the dish better for your body by using low sodium bacon with no nitrates. 

This finger food is a traditional christmas item, and it's GOOD. My dad made it when my grandparents came over for dinner one night because he's been eating them at his work, Table (a fancy famous restaurant in Asheville), and he thought they were awesome too. Here is the recipe:

Cut some pitted dates in half (each whole date will make one devil on horseback).
Put one almond each inside and close them up.
Take a strip of bacon and wrap the now almond-stuffed date in it.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Enjoy, you little devil!

Hot (Chocolate) Stuff

I know you like it. You like it just as much as anyone would, but I can assure you, I like it more than you ever would. I'm loco for cocoa. I love hot chocolate! But, we don't have hot chocolate very often, and when we do, we don't want to drink the disgusting processed kind from a packet. Instead, we make our own from cocoa powder. We sweeten it with sugar, but you could sweeten it with agave nectar, honey, or anything you think would be good in hot cocoa. You can get the cocoa powder at your local Ingles market. The recipe is on the side of the chocolate powder container. Next time you're loco for cocoa, try this. come on, we all know you'll love it!