October's Crazy Ingredient Challenge

I missed last month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge because life just got a little crazy, so this month I made sure to participate. The challenge was a little greater for me this month though because it was to combine pumpkin and bacon and if you know me, you know I don't eat bacon!

Because of my no bacon rule, I took a few liberties with the challenge and used tempeh bacon instead of the real thing. But if you really love bacon and beef,  I know you could substitute regular bacon and regular meatloaves in my recipe if you wanted to. Either way, the best part of the recipe is baking it in a little pumpkin!

I know this recipe is sure to get you in the mood for Halloween, or Thanksgiving if you live in the US. It's too perfect for either one of those holidays! So before you read on, just be sure you are ready to get into the holidays!

Spoon Worthy

I love pumpkins in every shape and form. Pumpkin patches, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, Cinderella's carriage, and pretty much pumpkin anything. But when I eat pumpkin treats, I really love when said treats are sprinkled with cinnamon.

Today's recipe are Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes frosted with plenty of Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. This frosting is so yummy that I coined a new phrase, spooky worthy. It's definately tasty enough to dig into a bowl of it with a spoon.

White Christmas Lasagna

Have you ever seen a heirloom pumpkin? They're huge, beautifully unique, and edible. I wouldn't suggest getting one for carving a jack o lantern next year because they're much too thick, but I would suggest getting one of you want to make to a truly delicious lasagna this winter.

I think that this lasagna is the perfect pre-holiday meal because with all of the extra house guests that come over, you'll need a big casserole of something to serve for dinner. Plus, you'll probably have leftovers for all those late night cravings when you're wrapping gifts.

And this lasagna is extra special because not only does it feed a lot of people, but there is an unexpected twist to it too. It's got a spicy curry kick to warm you up on a cold night and there is no tomato sauce for a white Christmas.

Curious yet? Read on for the recipe!

Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties and a Giveaway!

My post on Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes was so well received that I just had to create a second dish from my favourite movie franchise to share with everyone as a thank you! And if you read on past the recipe, there's a little giveaway opportunity at the end of this post too.

I absolutely love pie so choosing my second Harry Potter themed dish to share with you was incredibly easy. I always envisioned the Pumpkin Patsies sold on the Hogwart's Express as little Cornish Pasties style pies stuffed full of pumpkin. And if those pumpkin filled treats were good enough for Harry, I knew that they'd be perfect for me too.

I know they sound simple, but the magic created when these Pumpkin Pasties bake is truly amazing. But of course we all already knew that because they weren't featured in Harry Potter for nothing!

Crazy Ingredient Challenge - Broccoli and Pumpkin Puree

I really enjoyed this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge and didn't really think that our pairing was too difficult. Chocolate and cauliflower - that was weird but I didn't really embrace the challenge with my Spicy Chocolate Dusted Cauliflower. Caramel and avocados was tough too but I think my Creamy Avocado Salad with Caramel Almonds turned out great. And I barely made tomatoes and coconut work with my Tomato Soup Cupcakes and Caramel Frosting. But pumpkin purée and broccoli - I paired those veggies together in a flash and made a delicious dinner too! 

I suppose it helped that I love eating both those veggies. And it probably also helped because I like to think my Thai curries are one of my best dishes. Read on to see if you agree!

Best-o Pesto

Last year my basil did not not grow well. I might actually go so far as saying that it was the worst basil I've ever grown. And the worst part of that was that I didn't get to make any basil pesto for my freezer.

But I'm not worrying about that anymore. For one reason, I'm growing basil inside this year to ensure my plant doesn't get blown away by the wind and rain. And for the second reason, I've made a yummy Arugula Pesto that I am keen on making again.

Nothing says happy St. Patty's Day like green dinners, does it? And I think this pesto would be great on a simple Irish side of potatoes!

A Really Batty Pie

I tricked you didn't I? I bet you thought that yesterday's post was a rip off. I mean, it's night before Halloween and I made a Spring Vegetable Soup? What's Halloween-y about that?

Well that was the trick and now for the treat. Today's post is going to make you smile like a kid heading out to trick or treat. It's one of my favourite Halloween meal traditions and something that I am going to continue to make for my family for years to come.

Heres a hint: It's something that kids love and it's something that's as much fun to make as it is to eat. Why it's pizza of course!

But as it's a Halloween tradition, it's not just any pizza. It's Pumpkin Pizza! And I've kicked it up a notch for you this year too. Read on to find out all my tricks.

Mini Pie in the Sky

I'll be the first to admit that recently I may be using pumpkin seeds a little too often in my pumpkin desserts, but they are just so perfect that I can't help it!

Pumpkin seeds add crunch, decoration, and flavour to desserts. Plus, everyone knows as soon as they see them that the dessert hidden beneath the pumpkin seeds has to be pumpkin. 

Today's post is an easy to make pumpkin cookie decorated with (not so surprisingly) pumpkin seeds. I think they taste just like a pumpkin pie and now, since there's much less work, I'll get to enjoy one of my favourite flavours much more often!

Fall Flavours

I just got Anna Olson's new cookbook, Best of Baking, and I am loving going through it. There are so many great recipes and tips in it and I'm learning a lot about baking. 

Even though Anna is a much better baker than I am, I still think that I have some great ideas that she didn't think of. One of them was to top her Pumpkin Muffins with Pumpkin Seeds before baking them. It adds a pretty decoration and a lovely texture to the muffins that otherwise wouldn't have been there. 

I made a couple of other small changes to Anna's recipe, just to use what I had on hand, but adding the pumpkin seeds was the definitely the best change I made! I don't know if Anna would like my addition to her muffins, but I sure think she would. Do you? 

Creepy Crawly Dessert

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time for me to start celebrating Halloween. To me this means creating lots of creepy and cute Halloween themed snacks. 

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some of favourite, and also newly discovered, Halloween or pumpkin and squash treats. Get ready to trick or treat. 

My first treat is a delicious Pumpkin and Chocolate Swirl Cake with a White Chocolate Glaze. It would be beautiful served on it's own, but I decided to top each piece with a gummy spider. I think it adds a little extra fun into the holiday!

Pie in the Sky

I love to pile food high upon plates. I think it shows off all the little details of the dish and makes everything look beautiful. 

I especially love when I can show off details of a dish that look like they took ages to prepare, but they really took only mere moments of work. Today's recipe is one of those beautiful details with minimal work. 

I served a delicious pumpkin seed brittle on top of my traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and I excited to tell you that there are only two little ingredients in it. Plus it's really easy to make!

Pasta Fantastica

I was a vegetarian before entering university and I still really enjoyed everything about food. I love veggies and fruit, I loved grains and starches, and I loved life without meat. 

But the university I went to was small and you had to pick and choose the best meal available. Sometimes the best choice was a meat dish and while I tried my best to eat salads, veggie stir-frys, and a dish called "Pasta Fantastica" for a while, there came a day where I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to eat something else. I had to eat meat. 

Once I started eating meat again, I realized that flavours I was missing out on and meat stayed in my diet even after graduating from university. 

Today I am going back to my old eating habits of enjoying more meatless meals. And I have to say that if the "Pasta Fantastica" dishes at my university were more like today's recipe, I might have never changed my eating habits to begin with!

A Real Secret Ingredient

I love watching food related tv shows of any kind and one of my favourites is Eat Street. Eat Street travels all over the USA, Canada, and also to other countries and shows off food trucks and the special food that they produce. 

I love food trucks because they've evolved from the standard hot dog and chip truck to something extraordinary. You can find almost anything in the world at a food truck- frog legs, crepes, mile high burgers, curries, tacos, and more. And food trucks have a lower overhead than a regular restaurant so you seem to get a little more for your money too. 

Usually I want to try the food that Eat Street features, but one of the episodes of Eat Street I watched made me laugh instead of wanting to dig in. The food truck was called Tex's Tacos and they young men ran it explained what their secret ingredient for a certain taco was on the show. I was expecting a chili pepper, a special salsa, or a weird spice, but they shared that their secret ingredient was cheese. 

If cheese if a secret ingredient on a taco, then I guess I know all the secrets!

I think you'll really have to scratch your head to figure out what the secret ingredient in for the recipe I am sharing today. I challenge you to take a look at the picture below and venture your best guess. 

Here's a hint: it's not cheese! 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I know it's 10 days after Halloween and I am just getting around to show you what I did with my pumpkin, but hopefully my blood soup helped you enjoy the holiday. It sure tasted great to me!

But I think showing you my pumpkin now will be ok when you see what I turned it into.

I think your eyes will light up like Jack-O-Lanturns, your stomachs will growl like they smell candy apples, and you'll smile like your costume turned out exactly as planned.

So here goes!

Happy Belated Halloween!

I Vant To Suck Your Blood

I am a straight and narrow person. Most of the time I don't wear a lot of makeup, my skin is 85% covered, and my hair is my natural colour, long, and straight.

But all that changes on Halloween. If I dress up, I cover myself in makeup, depending on my costume the ratio of my clothes and skin may change, and my hair is never the same colour or style.

I didn't dress up this year and sadly we didn't get a single trick or treater, but I did watch the costume parade where I work. And it was great.

Snow White and his Seven Dwarfs marched and sang about being off to work. Four Black Swan ballerinas demonstrated their talents to a choreographed routine. One man dressed as he would normally except he showed off large fangs when he smiled ominously. And then Michael Jackson and his slew of zombies danced to Thriller.

My favourites were the zombies and the vampire because what's Halloween without a little blood and gore?

If you're interested in a little extra blood and gore, try my Blood Soup with Bone Croutons. It's great anytime of year.

Trick or Treat

I love Halloween.

There's the fun of dressing up, tons of goodies to snack on, scary movies to watch, and best of all I love getting creative in the kitchen.

You might be thinking that I mean baking candy apples or caramel popcorn, but I actually mean getting creative and cooking dinner!

A friend told me how she was at a party that served upscale Halloween food for adults. There was everything from squid ink pasta with shrimp and a spicy red pepper sauce to pumpkin stuffed tortellini with blackened cod.

Hearing about those treats made me excited and I knew I had to get creative in my kitchen this year. I took a slightly different route with my own ideas, but I might try one of those treats in 2012!

Black Sesame Crusted Fish with Pumpkin Gnocchi and Fried Green Tomato "Eyes"

Classically Trained

I was classically trained to cook, but not in the way you might be picturing...

There were no white hats in my kitchen. I didn't go to a cooking school. I have never worked in a restaurant. And I certainly haven't won any Michelin Stars.

I have big dreams, but I haven't done any of those things.

Instead, I was trained in the most classical way possible. I'm talking about how you learn real cooking, real love-filled cooking.

My mom taught me.

I'm sure you could see that coming, but I had to spell it out anyway for people not as smart as you.

So when you read the two following recipes I know you might think that they're just regular pies, but remember that a classically trained home cook made them. Plus, I won an award for one of my pies once.

That's right, I won an award. I was in the newspaper and everything!

I might have won the prize for youngest contestant, but who cares. I was around 5 years old and I took home the prize! It may have been grocery store treats, but I won and that's all I needed!