Pumpkin Turkey Chili

The season arrives with "the chill", the sound of rustling leaves, an instinct to hurry up and tuck in, and that "autumn smell". Gosh, I love the fall! Pumpkin season. Of course you can buy canned pumpkin year-round, but there's something really great about eating it right when the fall shows up. This recipe may sound somewhat bizarre, but it's pretty delicious. Hearty. It comes from allrecipes.com.

--1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
--1 cup chopped Onion
--1/2 cup chopped Green Bell Pepper
--1/2 cup chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
--1 clove Garlic, minced
--1 lb Ground Turkey
--1 (14.5 oz) can Diced Tomatoes
--2 cups Pumpkin Puree
--1 and 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder
--1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper
--1 dash Salt

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve on top of Corn Bread, topped with Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream.

Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

This is a nice project to do with a little kid, provided you have other things to do while the dough is chilling. It makes a very impressive and snazzy cookie and Ben remembers, after all these years, making them with me when he was little.

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg yolk

1 tbl. milk

1 - 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1-ounce square unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 tbl. milk

Hot milk as needed

Directions:

Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla; add egg yolk and the 1 tbl. milk. Sift together the dry ingredients; stir into the creamed mixture.

Divide dough in half. To one part, add the melted chocolate and 1 tbl. milk; mix.

Chill both doughs, covered, for 1 - 1/2 hours.

On waxed paper, roll each half of the dough into a 10" x 12" rectangle. Brush the chocolate layer with hot milk; place the plain layer atop so its far edge extends beyond the chocolate edge. Roll as for jelly roll, starting with the long side.

Wrap rolled dough in waxed paper and chill thoroughly. Slice thin.

Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Rolls

I love making rolls. They are easy to freeze for the two of us; we just take out what we need and warm them in the microwave. When I found this recipe in my old Blue Ribbon Recipe cookbook I knew I had to add it to my collection of favorites.

2 - 1/4 cups scalded milk

2 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed well

1 tbl. salt

2 tbl. soft shortening

1 pkg. dry yeast (1 tbl)

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg, beaten

4 - 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Pour milk over oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and shortening in a large bowl. Pour the yeast into the warm water. When the milk mixture is lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast and the beaten egg. Mix in flour.

Turn out onto lightly floured board, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth.

Place in a well-greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double. Punch down, shape into rolls. Place in well-greased muffin tins or on a cookie sheet, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400° for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Date Squares

This recipe, from SouthernCooking.com, is just like my mom's (previously mentioned here).

Filling:

16 oz. chopped dates

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Oat mixture:

1 - 1/2 cups flour

1 - 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

Combine the filling ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until thick. Remove from fire and cool.

Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, and salt. Press about half of this mixture in a well-buttered 9" x 13" pan. Spread with the cooled filling and cover with the remaining oats mixture. Press down lightly with hands.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Insects in Food

Okay, it's true confession time: My mother used to make date squares and we kids just loved them. My Uncle David also loved them and I loved my uncle, so I decided one day when I was around 13 to make a batch just for him. I had the filling made and was just adding the oatmeal to the sugar and butter mixture, when I discovered that the oatmeal contained little green worms. [You might want to stop reading now]. It was the only package of oatmeal that I had, so I just picked out the worms that I could see, kind of squinted my eyes a bit, and went right ahead with the recipe. Everyone loved those date squares, and I never told anyone that they contained some random bits of extra protein.

To help with my ongoing guilt, I've done a bit of research to determine the insect content of the foods that we eat. Think about it--bugs and their eggs are surely harvested right along with grains in the field, and I'll bet you've never seen a farmer sitting and picking them out before the grain is ground into flour.

Don't believe me? Here is some information, somewhat gleefully presented by a bug guy from the North Carolina State University Dept. of Entomology:

Insects in Food

How many insects did you have for breakfast this morning? The answer may surprise you! Despite advances in pest control technology, it is still not possible to exclude all insects from our food supply. Most agricultural products are already contaminated with insects (or insect products) when they are harvested, and still more gain access during storage.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has adopted Grade Standards designed to protect American consumers from inferior agricultural products. The standards set legal limits for spoilage or contamination due to insects and other agents. The highest grade is "U.S. No. 1".

In order to qualify as U.S. No. 1 Grade, the commodities listed below cannot exceed the following limits of contamination:

Ketchup -- 30 fruit fly eggs per 100 grams
Canned corn -- 2 insect larvae per 100 grams
Blueberries -- 2 maggots per 100 berries
Peanut butter -- 50 insect fragments per 100 grams
Curry powder -- 100 insect fragments per 100 grams
Wheat -- 1% of grains infested
Sesame seed -- 5% of seeds infested
Coffee -- 10% of beans infested

Have some more ketchup with your fries!

Check out the article itself at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/text18/food.html. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to give you that Date Square recipe. You've got a lot on your plate.

You need some time to digest this stuff. ;)

Dried Cranberry Biscotti

I used to make these with a little melted white chocolate drizzled across the top. This version comes from The Heart of New England. 

2 1/2 c. flour 

1 tsp. baking powder 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 1/2 c. sugar 

1/2 c. butter at room temp. 

2 large eggs 

1/2 tsp. almond extract 

1 1/2 c. dried cranberries 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; stir well to blend. With electric mixer beat sugar eggs, butter and extract. Add and mix in flour mixture. Mix in cranberries. 

Divide dough in half. Using floured hands shape into 2 logs about 10 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool completely. Slice logs into 1/2 inch pieces with serrated knife and bake slices 10 minutes without parchment. Turn over and bake additional 5 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

Hawaiian Bread

This recipe comes from a delightful old cookbook in my collection, called Blue Ribbon Recipes; County Fair Winners (Favorite Recipes Press, 1968). It's a real treasure, because it is filled with the very best recipes of the best cooks.

One No. 2 - 1/2 can of crushed pineapple, undrained

One 10 oz. pkg. of flaked coconut

4 eggs, beaten

1 - 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. soda

Combine all ingredients in the order given, with dry ingredients sifted together. Pour into 2 well-buttered loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes at 325° or until done. Cool on rack.

Guacamole

I used to hate avocados. They're truly an acquired taste for a young boy. Actually... if you sliced one up right now and put it in a salad, I'd most likely still hate it. Avocados and I have textural disagreements. However, when mashed up and made into a dip, I LOVE my brother, the avocado. When the avocados are fresh, nothing beats guacamole that's been made 5 minutes ago. That reminds me of a funny story... My old roommate Kiyash (God Bless that guy) tried to make guacamole once, but the avocados weren't in season. Was this going to stop Kiyash? Hell no! He was convinced that the solution to softening unripened avocados was popping them in the microwave! The rest of the story isn't very exciting. It just made for a bad dip, though Kiyash seemed blissful enough. What an innovator! Go, Kiyash!

I'm going to provide a rough outline of Guacamole, suggesting what I'd use. It's one of those recipes that you should find your own innovations and measurements for. Hopefully, not trying to ripen your avocados in the microwave.

--A couple Avocados
--Red Onion, minced
--Tomato, seeds and pulp removed, diced
--Jalapeno or Serrano Pepper, minced fine
--Olive Oil
--Garlic, minced fine
--Fresh Cilantro, chopped fine
--Fresh-Squeezed Lime Juice
--Kosher Salt
--Fresh-Ground Black Pepper

Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel and put in a mixing bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients to whatever measurements you desire. Just remember that the avocado is the star of the guacamole show. Mash together and serve immediately.

NOTE 1: If you're not going to serve immediately (why!?), keep the tomatoes separate and cover the guacamole with plastic wrap (or it will turn brown like an exposed banana). Store in the fridge. Mix tomatoes in right before you serve.

NOTE 2: Readers of this blog may notice that this is the recipe for Pico de Gallo mashed in with a couple of avocados.

Chilled Blueberry Lavender Buttermilk Soup

I've had this recipe for years. I cut it out from a long ago newspaper article on "Cooking in the Shaker Spirit." It's been tucked into a book on Shaker cooking, just waiting. I dedicate it to my sister, who will make it for a summer supper for us, to be served on a patio overlooking the sage bushes, piñon trees, and the distant blue mountains--a perfect blending of New Mexico scenery and New Hampshire memories.

4 pints blueberries

2 cups maple syrup

Juice of one lemon

6 to 8 lavender sprigs

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups light cream

Pick through and wash the blueberries. In a soup pot combine the berries, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Chill.

Soak the lavender sprigs in the buttermilk and cream for 45 to 60 minutes, then strain. Combine the chilled soup with the perfumed cream and buttermilk mixture. Chill the soup for 4 hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Serve in chilled bowls garnished with blueberry lavender ice cubes.*

*Ice cubes: fill a conventional ice cube tray with lavender blossoms and blueberry juice, then freeze.