Honey Mustard Pretzel Popcorn

What are you going to be doing this weekend? Are you dressing up all crazy, taking a little or two door to door for bite sized pieces of candy, or are you maybe giving out candy? Are you going to some spectacular Halloween party, or are you thinking more tricks then treats and are planning on TP-ing the neighbors or creating some mischief around town. 

Whatever you are doing, it's sounds like it's going to be a blast. Just note, if you are being mischievous  don't be an asshole about it. Stealing candy from kids is wrong,(steal your candy from adults) and TP is cool but spray paint and things that are permanent are not. And stay away from my houses! 

Anyway, the Halloween situation  is always the same with me and the mr. We say that we need to do something fun and different every year. Maybe a party, or even just some human intreat ion. But just like every year, we give in to our inner hermits. Our Halloween night will be as followed: Lock ourselves in the house, drawing the shades,(note that we would totally give out candy, but our door is down a very narrow and dark driveway, behind a fence, and pretty much inaccessible to people) watch a movie  (thinking Donnie Darko or maybe even old reruns of Halloween Rosanne.) eat popcorn,and go to sleep at a very reasonable hour.  And now that I say it out loud, our evening sounds like the most perfect way to spend the night. Especially because of the popcorn.

Let's just stop and think about this popcorn a minute……...

Ok, so do you get it now?. This is an epic popcorn combo. Mustard is for everything. A slightly sweet honey mustard all drizzled on  popcorn, well that's just craziness. And if you are like the mr., the pretzel crumble just takes it over the top. If we had made plans, I would probably have to cancel just so I can stay in an eat this popcorn.

And I have a hunch that this flavor combination will pair very well with a handful or two of some halloween candies. 

POPCORN TIME!!!!!

The stuff. A big ass bowl of air popped popcorn.  Spicy brown mustard (can use any mustard) honey (can use maple) a little olive oil and a few pretzel sticks. (can use any pretzel shape you like)

Bag the pretzels, grap something heavy (rolling pin works great) and smash the pretzels into tiny little bits.

Just like this

In a little pot ) mix mustard, oil and honey together. Place on medium  heat and mix continuously until the mixture is hot and a nice liquid pourable consistency. 

Now you can do this any way you want, but my way is probably the best. Dividie popcorn in two bowls and drizzle each bowl with equal amounts of mustard sauce.

Flip one of the bowls ontop of the other and shake the crap oiut of it.(or until the popcorn is evenly coated)

And the popcorn is all nice and evenly coasted. Now dump in the crushed pretzel and repeat the double bowl shake.

Check it out… Some fantastical popcorn

Now don't you want to turn the lights off and snuggle on the couch with this bowl?

Share if you want, but hey, it's just popcorn so you can taotally eat it all yourself. 

Happy Friday.. And Happy Halloween

-C

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Honey Mustard Pretzel Popcorn

makes 10 cups (enough to share between 2 people)

• 10 ish cups of air popped popcorn
• 3 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey (sub maple or agave if vegan)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-4 pretzel rods (or whatever shape) which makes about 1/2 a cup smashed (use gluten free if needed)

Take pretzels and place them in a bag of some sort and using something heavy (like a rolling pin) smash the pretzels until they are a smallish crumb (some big shanks are good too)

In a small sauce pot, combine the mustard, honey, oil, and mix to combine. Stick pot on stove and heat on medium until sauce is hot and liquidy. (can get the same result by using a microwave safe bowl and sticking it in a microwave at 20 second intervals until  hot)

Evenly distribute popcorn into two big bowls. Take the warmed up sauce and drizzle all over popcorn in  each bowl the, for the fun part, flip one bowl onto the other and shake the popcorn all around to evenly coat. Remove a bowl, toss in the pretzel crumbs and pieces and place the bowl back on. Shake again.

Popcorn is ready, now eating it!

Butternut Mac N' Cheeze

Had some littles over for dinner halloween dinner the other night  and I made them some mac n' cheese.

Kinda, cause it wasn't really cheese. Let me explain. 

These particular littles are tough. Getting them to eat things that are not pizza, hot dogs, or some other crap is not always easy.(although they will always eat carrots) So whenever they come over, I try to feed them a healthier version of something that I know that they like,  like tofu dogs or homemade whole wheat pizzas. So this night, I though I would give my vegan mac and cheese and try.  I mean,what kid doesn't like it? But what kind is the question. If you ask them, its got to be boxed Kraft mac and cheese. I knew when I was making it that there was a great chance that I might have to make peanut butter banana sandwiches as well, but whatever These little littles need to stop being such picky crappy eaters and yeah. Even if that means I make them eat what why don't like or that on the ride home I tell them that any pizza that is not home made will probably end up killing them) So I try, and sometimes it works. 

So I made it, no cheese in sight and served it up. The verdict.... The mr, he loved it. My sister (she came too) she was into it as well. One little ate almost an entire bowl, and the other, well he spit it out, but he is more a hot dog guy then a mac and cheese guy so his opinion doesn't count. So to conclude, yes, this is a fantasic mac and cheese that just happened to be cheese less,  full of veggies, and damn tasty!

And serving suggestion DON"T LET THE LITTLE KNOW IT"S NOT REAL CHEESE!!! They don't need to know

To the mac!

The stuff. A small butternut squash, a potato, an onion, and a carrot. Also needed is nutritional yeast (the cheeze), garlic powder, olive oil, salt and pepper, and some water. And pasta.. don't forget the pasta. 

Start with the onion and carrot in a big pot with some oil. Stick that on the stove and turn on the heat, and when that's going, chop up the butternut sqauh and the potato and toss that into the pot too. Let the stuff cook for just a few minutes.

Pour in water (enough o submerge all the veggies)  and add in the garlic powder and some salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil then turn heat down to medium and stick a lid on the pot.

Now is a good time to boil up your pasta situation (cook it the way the package says too)

When it's done, strain it. And if it happens that it is done a little before the sauce, it's cool, just drizzle it with a little oil so that the noodles don't all stick together and set aside.

Back to the sauce. Once the pot of veggies is all tender and falling apart, take it off the stove.

And blend the crap out of it with your blending method of choice (a hand o a regular blender)

Oh, and mix in the nutrioanl yeast (can add it in at the blending stage… I just forgot too) and season with any more salt and pepper if needed.

Grap the cooked noodles, dump them into the sauce and give a good mix.

golden deliciousness!

Scoop into food eating vessels,(handled coffee mugs are great for the littles.. and cute) Maybe sprinkle on some chopped green stuff(my people enjoyed the addition of chopped up kale) and serve right away!

Now you can eat all the mac n cheeze. 

Happy Thursday!

-C

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Butternut Mac N' Cheeze

Serve 6 or so people

• 1 lb macaroni noodles (any kind you like. vegan, gluten free, whole wheat) 
• half a small butternut squash (about 2 1/2 ish cups chopped)
• 1 medium white potato
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• water

Chop up the onion and the carrot and stick into a large heavy bottom pot with a splash or two of olive oil and stick on the stove on medium heat. While that's  going on, chop up the butternut and potato into reasonable small chunks and toss that into the pot with the other stuff. Add in the garlic powder, season well with salt and pepper, and add enough water to full submerge the contents of the pot. Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat to medium and stick a cover on the pot.

While the veggies are boiling, boil the pasta up, slightly al denta (follow what the pasta people on the package tells you to do)

Once all the veggies in the pot are super tender, even falling apart (about 20 minutes) remove pot from heat and using your blending method of choice (hand or normal blender)  blend everything together until smooth and creamy and then add in the nutritional yeast. Taste and if you think it needs it, add more salt and  pepper. If you find that the sauce seems to thick, add in a splash or two of water.. to thin, stick back on stove and cook long to reduce. 

So you got you cooked pasta and you sauce. Mix it all together. And wa la… Mac N' Cheeze

serve right away and eat it all. But any left overs can be refrigerated. Tastes great  the next day warmed in a skillet with a little oil. 

Spicy Maple Candied Walnuts

My oven is fixed!! The part came in yesterday afternoon, right before we were about to leave for dinner at my sisters. The mr ripped the package open, popped the stove out and within 5 minutes I had a brand new, working ovens! (not really brand new, but it is much cleaner now after taking it apart and seeing how nasty it was)

But before this happened, I was working with no oven. And all I wanted to do ( all I wanted to do all weekend) was bake something.  So yesterday, instead of just waiting around moping, I decided to make something with the part of the oven that still worked. And being that it's the week before Halloween, I have got candy on my mind, plus  a hugmongo bag of walnuts. Hmm, the possibilities. 

No oven, big bag of nuts, candy thoughts = Spicy maple candied walnuts A perfectly sweet and spicy treat that packs lots of flavor, protein, and healthy stuff and not a bunch  of shit. Made on the stove top with no fancy equipment., takes about 5 minutes to make and tastes like Woo hoo! A (kinda )candy to feel good about eating.

Ask the mr. I think he ate them all last night. And I am ok with that cause it's way better then him eating that shit candy and also, he fixed my oven. Thanks love! 

Now to the nuts!

The stuff. Whole walnuts, real pure Vermont maple syrup, cayenne pepper and salt. 

Stick the walnuts into a dry skillet and place on the stove on medium high heat to give the nuts a little pre toast and to preheat the skillet.

While the walnuts are slightly toasting, dump the maple syrup in a bowl with cayenne and give it a little stir.

Once the skillet has heated and the walnuts are slightly toasted and starting to smell all nutty ,dump the syrup into the skillet while string until the nuts until all are coated.

And for the next few minutes, continue to stir the nuts until the maple syrup starts to caramelize and  there is no longer any liquid left in the pan.(like 3-5 minutes)

Now dump the nuts onto a lined baking sheet and spinkle with a pinch or two of salt, and if you like spice, a pinch more of cayenne pepper (you can make them as salty and spicy as you like!)

Note. As soon as you dump the nuts, stick your skillet in the sink and fill with water to avoid a crappy stuck on sugar mess.

Walnuts a plenty cooling off. 

Oh man.. dez nuts! (I am sorry, I couldn't resists)

Snack on these, it will make you happy.

Enjoy your Tuesday! 

-C

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Spicy Maple Candied Walnuts

• 1 1/2 cups raw, whole walnuts
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cayanne powder (more if you like really spicy)
• a couple pinches of salt 

Place walnuts into a large dry skillet  and stick on stove on medium heat. In a little bowl, mix the maple and the cayenne pepper together. When the skillet has preheated and the walnuts are slightly toasted ash giving off a nutty smell, pour mixture onto walnuts, string to evenly coat each nut. COntinue to cook and stir for another 3-4 minutes or until the syrup has caramelized ash dried. Once done, dump the mixture onto a lined baking sheet  and sprinkle with salt and maybe more cayenne pepper if yu want. Let cool, then eat…

These suckers make a great snack,  tossed into salads, or added to some apple strudel. Eat them whatever way floats your boat. 

Delicata Upside down Cake

I have so so so many winter squash. It's getting kind of out of hand. The mr is even making me a couple of wall shelves specifically for the squash so we can get our table back (it is currently covered in squash and tomatoes). I hoard them and I can't exactly tell you why. I think there is a part of me that is afraid that sometime durning the winter I am going to ran out of squash and am going to be forced to eat, I don't know, other food. And there also the part of me that knows that I will eat it all and why the hell not hoard them.. they are so pretty and lovely and…..well because I can! When I sit here and think about it,  there is no real logical reason for me to have so many, especially sense I will be doing a winter farm share and we get squash at each pick up all winter long. 

Hum….Things to think about..Oh well. I'll just call it a little werido quork of mine… squash hoarder, which is much better then a trash hoarder or a "stupid shit I found on the side of the road"  hoarder (that would be the mr.. but I don't judge).

So yeah,  I might need a squash intervention, or I can just make everyone around me happy by baking them sweet ass squash treats. I have shared and I always like to share my squash loot (see, another resin to have so many) but I found that most of the people in my life do not have the same kind of hunger for savory cooked squash.(weirdos) But you know what they do like? Cake Everyone will eat cake.

And for this cake I used delicata. It is really sweet,(I think all on its own it taste like a sweet dessert) so tasty, and easy to cook, The perfect squash for a cake. Add in the warm fall spices and you got yourself a winner. And bonus.. if you have heard that there is a canned pumpkin shortage this year and are are worried about you pumpkin fix. Stop. You don't need canned pumpkin. Just make your own puree and make it with all the squashes, especially delicata. 

Now go bake a cake.. I will probably make another one this weekend while I start on eating/baking with the sweet dumplings and buttercups that are piled on the fridge (seriously.. I have squash EVERYWHERE!)

The stuff. In the big white bowl there is white whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then we have some brown sugar, oil, water with some vinegar and a already baked delicata squash. Also going to need another uncooked squash, earth balance and a little more brown sugar for the upside down part.

First off, grab yourself 10-12 inch skillet, preferably one that you have not just cooked garlic in. 

Slice up the uncooked delicata into 1/2 inch slices and remove the seeds (to roast later)

Stick the earth balance and the lesser amount of brown sugar into the skillet and place it on low heat, just to melt the butter and sugar down to form a sauce.

Now layer the squash rounds in the sauce. Fill in the skillet as much as you can. ( any left over can be for  cooked for lunch)

The already baked delicata squash (minus the seed and skin.. save the seeds to roast, skin you eat right away) goes into a bowl with the brown sugar and oil. Mix it all together until combined. 

Note.. My squash was still warm when I mixed it with the sugar and oil. which really helped the sugar resolve and for the mixture to be smooth. If you squash is cold, warm it up a bit..

Whisk together all the dry and dump in the squash mixture and mix.

And slowly pour in the water/ vinegar mixture and mix until just incorporated.

Now slowly pour batter over the delicata in the skillet.

And into the oven it goes!

After 45-50 minutes, the cake should be browned and beautiful and a tester should come out clean when stuck in the middle. Remove the cake and place on cooling rack for about 8-10 minutes to cool. Don't get to excited and do it to soon or else the caramelization on the bottom will still be too liquid and completely soak into cake. Giving it a few minutes will let it cool enough to set up and stick to the top….so just wait!

And for the best and scary part…flip the skillet onto a plate or cutting board and be amazed. oh, but right before you do, run a spatula or knife around the edge to make sure the cake is loose.

It really should have no problem coming out of the skillet, but if any of the squash sticks (one piece of mine did) just scrap it out and place it back on the cake… no one will notice)

Now time for a slice… or maybe two!

And for reals, go get yourself lots of squash, even if it's just to make cakes with!

Have a fantastic weekend!

-C

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Delicata Upside-down Cake 

Makes a 12 inch skillet cake (can be made in a can pan)

For the cake

• 1 3/4 cup white whole wheat pastry flour (can use white pastry, wheat pastry, or all purpose)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup warm delicata squash puree*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup mild flavored oil (canola or veggie)
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vineagr
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

For the upside down part

• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons earth balance]
• 1 small uncooked delicata squash 

*Note.. To make delicata puree, simply stick the whole squash into the oven and roast until fork tender. Remove and let cool enough to handle. Cut in half, scoop to the seeds and scoop the flesh into a bowl….thats it. Oh, save seeds to roast and eat the skin as a snack (skin is my favorite part and the seeds are almost better then pumpkin!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grab yourself a 10-12 inch clean cast iron skillet (maybe don't cook garlic in it before you make this cake). Stick the earth balance and the brown sugar in it and place on low heat until the butter and sugar melt together and form a sauce. Remove pan from heat. Take the raw delicata squash and slice it into 1/2 inch rounds. Remove the seeds(save for roasting) and place the rounds into the bottom of the skillet, fitting in as many as you can, without overlapping. Set aside and make cake batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and the cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine the cooked warm squashwith the oil and the brown sugar. (if you squash puree is cold, warm it up. It mixes better warm) Mix until completely combined. Dump wet into dry and whack together then slowly pour in water/ vinegar mixture and whack until everything is full incorporated. 

Pour cake batter over the stuff in the skillet and place into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes , until a nice golden brown and tester in middle comes out clean. Remove and place on a cooling rack or ontop of the oven to cool for 8-10 minutes. Once  cooled, take a plate, cooling rack, or cutting board that is a least a little bigger therm the skillet, place it ontop pif the killet, and flip. The cake should drop right out…. if anything sticks in the skillet, trust scrap it off and stick it back on the cake.

Now the cake is ready to eat.. so grab a knife, cut a slice and do it.

Creamy Broccoli and Celeriac Soup

Two days ago,  I was doing my least favoritie thing on my computer (bills) when the computer started to act a little funny and throwing me off the internet and just vein stupid. So what did I do? Well, like every other electronic that I have ever had issues with, I just turned it off and restarted the thing. When I turned it back on, already in a bad mood (stupid bills), I was greeted to a blank blue background where one lived a really cute picture of the mr and the pup. "Weird" was the thought that passed through my mind but didn't think to much about it, just that I needed a new photo. So I went to my iPhoto library to pick out a new picture and what did I find? NOTHING! Not a single f*king picture. My entire photo library from the past 5 months...GONE!! Yup. I totally freaked out. I have no clue what happened. I searched and looked up all sorts of things, but found no help. I even brought the computer to my sisters, who told me that I should have no problem getting the stuff back, I just need to  time machine you computer. But guess what, that little nifty function was turned off on my commuter. WHAT THE F!(I have sense turned it on) Long story shot.. the picture, they be gone.. and I am not willing to fork over hundreds of dollars to see if someone in a fancy blue shirt  might be able to get them back. 

Just going to take it as a lesson learned to BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!!!!!!  

Agh. So that happened, but so did this soup. These pictures are  the last pictures that I had on my camera sim card that I accidentally  didn't remove the last time I loaded up my pictures. After the afternoon and evening of franticly trying to restore my pictures, it was nice little surprise to find one thing left.  I think it was meant to be, to have to share this soup with the world cause this soup be banging!  Made all creamy and nice with one of my favorite veggies,  celeriac and broccoli , and a touch of cheeeniess from a little nutritional yeast. A spin on the classic cream of broccoli. A soup so good I ate 3 bowls in one sitting (ok, so they were small bowls, but still) And the last of the photos from before that day that I will recur to now as "Stupid Fucking Computer Day, or SFCD" 

Anyway, a fantastic soup, a shitty day. But you know what? It could have been a lot worse. I could have totally destroyed everything on my computer or even broke the thing. Sure, I lost a bunch of pictures, but I am ok with it now. I am just taking it like I have a clean slate.  And now I am going to be way better about backing shit up.  I will think about it everytime I make soup. Maybe it will be my new thing, back computer up  while I make soup.

The stuff. A big head of broccoli, with a big stalk, some super knobby celeriac, an onion and a couple carrots. Also gonna need a lemon, some garlic and garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and a little olive oil. 

Start by dicing up the carrot, onion, and the garlic and toss it into a large heavy bottom bot with a drizzle of olive oil. Stick that pot on the stove on medium heat and let those veggies get a kick start in cooking. And now is a good time to dice up the celeriac (I do not peel it, but you can if you want)  and cut the broccoli florets off of the stalk and dice up the stalk.

Dump the stalk and celeratic into the pot as week, giving it a sprinkle of salt and a splash of water. LEt everything cook for a fe wore minutes, or until the stuff starts to brown and the water is evaporated.

Now pouter in water.. enough to full submerge the veggie goodness. SPrinlle the whole pot with a bit more salt and pepper and add in the garlic pepper. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn heat down to low, stick a litd on it, and list simmer for about 20-25 minutes.

And the veggies are all super nice and tender 

Now grab your hand blender… and do what needs to be done. Turn the burner off and  blend until smooth and creamy. If you need to, add in more water, as much as you like. The more water, the thinner your soup.( IF you add to much, just simmer soup longer and let it cook out) Now chop chop chop the broccoli florets into little pieces and dump them into the creamy goodess. Turn the burner back on to medium heat.

Add in the nutritional yeast and the zest of the lemon and and any more salt sand pepper that you like, give it a good stir, and let cook for a few more minutes or unit the little pieces of broccoli are nice and tender. 

And right when you are ready to serve, add in the juice of the lemon.. or just serve each bowl with a wedge. Garnish with pretty green chopped up broccoli if you like.. some cracked pepper or whatever. 

And don't forget a spoon !

Souping.. that what I do.

Now go back up your computer!

Have a great day!

-C

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Creamy Broccoli and Celeriac Soup 

Makes enough for 4-5 people

• 2 celeriac bulbs (softball-ish sized)
• 1 large head of broccoli with a big stalk
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional..I like a lot of garlic)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 lemon… zest and juice
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4-5 cups water

Grab yourself a big heavy bottom pot and drizzle it with a little olive oil. Chop up the carrot, onion and garlic and toss that stuff  into the pot.  Give it a stir and let cook for a few minutes on medium heat.. Meanwhile, chop up the celeriac into small chiunks and  chop the florets from the broccoli, set floteets aside ,and dice up the remaining parts and stalk of the broccoli.  Toss the chopped broccoli stalk and the chop celeriac into the pot with the onions and carrots , give the pot a big splash of water, a sprinkle of salt and give it a good stir. Let the veggies cook for a few more minutes or until the water has completely evaporated. 

Now add in  water.. enough to fully submerge all the veggies. Add in a little more salt, pepper and the garlic powder, give it all a good stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heart to medium low and cover the pot with a lid. Let veggies simmer for about 20- 25 minutes or until the veggie are nice and tender. 

Turn heat off and grab the emulsifying blender and blend until smooth (can use a normal blender) Once smooth, chop  the broccoli florets into little pieces and add to the pot , along with the nutritional yeast, the zest of the lemon,  and any more salt and pepper that you would like.  Turn heat back on to medium low and continue to cook until the little piece of broccoli are tender.Once ready to serve, add in the juice of the lemon.

Serve in bowls, sprinkle with broccoli bits, pepper or whatever, and eat you heart out. (I ate 3 bowls in one sitting)