Pumpkin Muffins

Wet: 1/2+ cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses/honey blend (I would have used all molasses but I ran out), 1/4 cup oil, 1 can pumpkin, 1 egg, yogurt as needed (I used about 1/4-1/3 cup)

Dry: 1 cup whole wheat, 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry, 1/4 wheat germ, 3/4 cup flax meal, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 t salt, spices as desired (cinnamon, cloves, all spice, nutmeg, and ginger)

Add 1/2 cup raisins or cranberries and/or 1/2 cup walnuts if you'd like.

Combine, makes 12-16 muffins depending on how big you want your muffins.

Bake at 375 about 25 minutes.

Caitlyn's Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Cut a butternut squash in half (microwave for 2 minutes to make cutting it easier and cooking it faster) and lay it face down on a parchmont-paper covered baking sheet. Cook at 400 and 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, cook 2/3 cup barley. If you used hulled barley, saute it in olive oil before adding the cooking water. If you use pearl barley, you can just boil it in water until tender.

Once you have the barley and squash going, cut up 1/2 a big onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 stalks celery, and 3 carrots. Saute until the onion is tender. Add garam masala, tumeric, coriander, cumin, chili pepper, and any other curry spices you like. Use a total of about 1 heaping tablespoon of spices. Add 4 cups broth and cook until all the veggies are tender.

Once the squash is done, scoop out the flesh and add it to the soup. Don't add the barley yet. Ladle out about half of the soup and blend it. Put the blended soup back in the pot with the rest of the soup. Stir in the tender barley, and serve.

Fruit Almond Granola

In a bowl combine 3 cups rolled oats, 1 cup oat bran, 1/4 ground flax seed, 1/4 wheat germ, 1 cup almonds (whole or sliced), 1/2 t salt.

In a sauce pan, combine 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 t vanilla, 3 T oil (canola or olive), 1/4 cup water. Heat until it bubbles. Pour over dry ingredients.

Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 about 20-22 minutes, stirring twice. Once it cools, add dried fruit (dried blueberries, apricots, raisins, cherries, cranberries, etc).

Yum!

Provencal Vegetables with Olives and Pine Nuts

Chop up about 3 sweet potatoes. Put in a bowl and drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt on top. Use your hands or a spoon to coat evenly. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 425 until nice and roasty. You should also roast a whole bulb of garlic. To do this, I take the bulb and chop off just the tip, exposing most of the cloves (don't worry if some cloves are not cut into). Place it on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake about 30 minutes (should take about the same amount of time as the sweet potatoes.

Meanwhile caramelize sliced onions by sauteing on med heat for a long time, stirring and adjusting the heat as necessary to keep from burning. Once they get close, add chopped up red pepper and slices of yellow summer squash. When this is almost done, add a few heaping handfuls of baby spinach and saute until wilted.

Add in the sweet potatoes and arrange the veggie mixture on a plate topped with toasted pine nuts, whole kalamata olives, and shaved parmesan cheese. Serve with french bread, cheeses, and your roasted garlic.

Alternatives: You can roast the onion with the sweet potatoes instead of sauteing them. You can also roast potatoes with the sweet potatoes (prepare the same way you do the sweet potatoes) if you need more starch (if you aren't having bread say).

Chocolate Carrot Cake

In a bowl combine 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (about 3 carrots), 1/2 cup canola oil, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Pour 1 cup of boiling water on top. In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 t salt, 1 1/2 t baking soda, and 1 t cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet. I also like to add a big handful of chocolate chips. Put in a greased 8x8 inch baking pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. These make great cupcakes or mini cupcakes for school(makes 24+ minis). For cupcakes and mini cupcakes, they will need much less cooking time so check often. For minis check after 8 minutes. Prob won't be done yet but they might be!

Let it cool, then:

Top with cream cheese frosting. If doing cupcakes put a chocolate chip on the top of each one.

Fesanjan

In your crock pot put:

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken
1 onion sliced thinly
1/2 lb walnuts that have been cuisinarted until you have walnut dust
1 t salt
4 cups pomegranate juice (you can use concentrate mixed with water or broth)
1/2 t cardamom

Cook on low all day until the chicken just falls apart (use a fork to pull it). Serve over rice.

Veggie Wat/Alecha

Sauté 1 chopped onions, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 T berbere, and 1 T sweet paprika in oil for a couple minutes. Add 1 cup string beans, 1 cup chopped carrots, and 1 cup chopped potatoes and continue to sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup tomato paste, and 2 cups vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste and mix in some parsley. Serve with injera and yogurt. You should make this along with other Ethiopian stews for the same meal.


Note: To make Veggie Alecha, you do basically the same thing except leave out the berbere, paprika and tomato paste, add freshly grated ginger, replace the string beans with green cabbage and add some red/green peppers.