Carrot Pumpkin Bread

Happy Friday to all!

What a cold, rainy week we've had. I don't know about you, but I kind of enjoyed it. Apart from the rain hindering my daily runs... something about the wet grey days makes me want to curl up with a book or get busy in the kitchen. We're entering the days of autumnal/orange produce... squash, pumpkin, carrots... so I figured I should make some Carrot Pumpkin Muffins, a recipe I got from the South Lansing Farmers Market this weekend. Unfortunately, after rummaging through our cupboards for a while, there were no muffin tins to be found. So, I tweaked the recipe a bit, found a loaf pan, and made...

Carrot Pumpkin Oat Walnut (and a few chocolate chips) Bread
**Keep in mind that I added ingredients that I had laying around my kitchen. Feel free to add or subtract anything you'd like in this bread... you can get creative! Also, if you have muffin tins, this recipe makes 12 muffins (bake muffins for 10-14 minutes)**

Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin puree
3 medium carrots, shredded
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup oats
a few dark chocolate chips (literally, about 8 chocolate chips because that's all I had)
1 1/2 cup whole wheat OR all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 deg F. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs and oil. Mix well and add carrots, walnuts, oats and chocolate chips.

In another medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and baking powder.

Stir the dry mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Mix thoroughly, and pour into a greased 9x3x2 loaf pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

By the way, I'm honored to have been mentioned in the Lansing State Journal this week for my favorite fall food (another orange one!), Pumpkin Corn Chowder. Check it out: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/99999999/LIFE05/309230026/Healthy-Meals-Recipe-Pumpkin-Corn-Chowder?odyssey=mod

1 yummy way to use up your wilting greens

My roommates came home with about 5 lbs of greens the other day - swiss chard, kale, bok choy, salad greens, you name it. Holy moly, is the garden producing or what?

Our ever-busy lives caused the greens to start wilting in the fridge, so I decided to do something about it. That something was Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (I quadrupled this because I love the heat)
3 14-oz cans of veggie broth
1 large bunch of swiss chard, chopped, with stalks and stems removed
1 pound red lentils
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Plain yogurt (optional)

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium heat in large saucepan. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add curry and cayenne, broth and chard. Bring to a boil. Add lentils and garbanzos and reduce heat. Simmer until lentils are tender (about 10-20 minutes). Serve and top with yogurt if desired.

I used the chard that we had, but this stew would be great with any other green you might have lying around your house begging to be eaten.

**After making this soup, I decided it would be even better with some chicken thrown in there. So if anybody tries this idea, let me know how it goes!

Million Hearts

Check this article out: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/09/13/140439893/the-next-big-step-preventing-1-million-heart-attacks-and-strokes?ps=sh_stcathdl

Essentially, it's a new public health initiative geared towards reducing the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attacks and hypertension. Changing behaviors of doctors as well as medical-care strategies are among practices to be put into gear. The FDA will try to work with the food industry to cut back on sodium content of packaged foods. (Restaurant and packaged foods account for 80% of daily American salt intake, by the way).

If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels or blood pressure, there are easy things to cut from your diet to see immediate impacts.

1. Cut back on coffee and soda, alcohol intake, and quit smoking.

2. Try to eat red meat less than 3 times/week and stick to leaner meats such as chicken and fish. I'm no vegetarian, but keep in mind that too much meat on a regular basis (ie, meat at every meal) will drive those cholesterol levels higher. Cholesterol is only present in foods coming from animals, such as meat, eggs, and whole milk. While all of these things offer wonderful vitamins and minerals, they are high in cholesterol and sometimes fat. Choose colorful plant foods like spinach, avocados, tomatoes or sweet potatoes for at least one meal a day instead of a meat-based meal.

3. Try to cut back on canned soups and pre-packaged meals. If you look on the back of these labels, you'll find lots and lots of sodium. It's cheaper, healthier, and more satisfying to make homemade soup from fresh ingredients - if you make a big batch, you'll have homemade soup all week, or you can freeze some for later!

The Ultimate Egg Sandwich

I'm not a chef by any means. I enjoy being in the kitchen, trying new recipes, and eating real food that I put effort into growing and/or making... but I don't have the midas touch when it comes to whipping up a 5-star meal (thankfully, my roommates do).

There are, however, a few things I excel at (I have my mother to thank for the first 3):
1. Salsa
2. Zucchini Bread
3. Quinoa, Corn and Black Bean Salad
4. Pumpkin Corn Chowder
5. EGG SANDWICHES:

Let me tell you about my favorite breakfast item (and it doesn't come from McDonalds). Yes, I love fruit, yogurt and granola; Yes, I love a big bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and honey. But the egg sandwich is an art. It's personal. It's beautiful. It's versatile. It's tailored to your liking. Red pepper flakes. Onions. Mustard. Mayo. Ketchup. Bacon. Lettuce. Curry. Celery. Avocado. Sprouts. Tomato. Arugula. Chives. Parsley. Cilantro. Garlic. Chevre. Provolone. Cheddar. Spinach. Honey. Cashews. I'm getting carried away here, but do you see my point?

This morning I made pretty basic, quick, and LOCAL egg sammies for my roomies:
-Over-medium egg with red pepper flakes (yoke just a little runny!)
-Spring greens
-thin tomato slices
-Picante chevre
-Arizona Heat mustard
-Homemade Sourdough bread

nomnomnom. It all came from the Allen Street Farmers Market except for the mustard. Not a bad start to the day if you ask me...

Embrace the Egg Sandwich!