Fall Recipes

I was typing these up to share with my sister and thought I'd throw them up for everyone else too! These are some of my favorite fall recipes. Enjoy!

Fool Proof Pie Crust

4 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use whatever)
1 1/3 cups shortening (I use butter)
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vinegar
1 egg
1/2 cup water (possibly a smidge more if you use whole wheat flour)

Blend flour, shortening, sugar and salt with pastry blender. Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl. Combine all with fork. Mold with your hands, chill 15 min. Makes 5 crusts. May be frozen up to 6 months.


Delicious Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup potato, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrot, diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups cooked, diced chicken (I tend to use a little less and no one ever notices)
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (I use organic Better Than Bullion)
1 cup cream (or whole milk)

Saute veggies in butter 10 min (easiest if you use a wide, deep saucepan). Add flour and cook 1 min, stirring constantly. Combine broth and cream and add to veggies. Cook until thickened. Pour into pie crust, top with a second crust and vent. Bake 40 min at 400*. May also bake individual size pot pies in a jumbo muffin tin or pour mixture into pie plate and top with biscuit dough instead of pie crust.

Vegetable Pot Pie

1 potato, cubed
1 carrot, diced
1/2 head broccoli, cut
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 can corn, drained
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese (I use parm or cheddar)
Pie crust

Cook potato, carrot and broccoli until tender. Saute onion and pepper and add to other veggies. Melt butter and stir in flour, whisking until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thickened. Stir in cheese. Pour over veggies and turn into pie plate lined with pie crust. Cover with second crust, vent and bake 20 min at 415*. May also bake individual size pot pies in a jumbo muffin tin or pour mixture into pie plate and top with biscuit dough instead of pie crust.


Creamy Sausage Stew

4 red potatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 pint cream
1 1/2 tbsp cold water
1 lb Italian sausage, sliced (hot or mild)
1/6 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (or potato starch)

Toss potatoes, onion, pepper and sausage in a roasting pan or cast iron skillet. Combine oil and spices and pour over vegetables. Cover and bake 45 min at 350*. Add cream, stir. Cover again and bake another 30 - 40 min until potatoes are tender. Place on stovetop, stir in slurry of cornstarch and water and simmer until thickened.


Carbonara

1 1/4 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 oz butter
5 oz pancetta or bacon
4 egg yolks
6 oz cream
2 oz Parmesan
salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta. Sauté pancetta/bacon in butter, 3-4 min to render. Add pasta and saute until hot. Whisk egg yolks with cream and Parmesan. Add to pasta. Cook gently, stirring constantly until sauce is heated through. Do not overheat! Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with parsley.

Update

How do you appease your wife when your business trip takes three times longer than it was supposed to?

Importing her positively sinful food is a really good start!

I wish that blogger came with smell-o-vision (thank you for that idea, Futurama) so that you could appreciate the decadent fragrances wafting out of my cabinet compliments of the luxurious imported chocolate and coffee Eric brought home for me. I should have taken a picture of the coffee before I opened it - the pressure differential in the plane sucked every last smidgen of air out of it so it was hyper compressed in a funny shape. I know; I'm easily entertained. Speaking of food, expect more recipes now that Eric's back! I don't cook much for myself when he's not here, but I intend to make good use of his time home to make our favorite fall foods and try some new ones. I'll make a point of sharing anything good!

Luckily, Eric was happy with all the changes I made to the apartment while he was gone. I really should remember to write him emails so he knows and isn't just surprised when he walks in. Note to self. Anyway, I tried to take a picture of the beautiful new lamps we picked up for our living room, but it absolutely refuses to rotate properly and load onto this post. So I will have to try again later. Suffice it to say, our living room is slowly becoming a space I'm very happy with. That may not sound like much, but it's actually quite a big deal as we've never put a lot of time, energy or money into a living room before so this is new.

Since I couldn't get that picture up, I am going to share a different one instead. Check out the two glorious prints I located to round out the fabric for my new quilt project! (They are even lovelier in person, I promise.) The quilt store here is amazing; the people are very sweet, always interested in what you're making and excellent at helping you find patterns and colors that work together if you're not sure what you're looking for. I'm also excited because I just heard that friends of ours are having a baby - which means I'll have a reason to make the adorable baby quilts in the latest quilting magazine! (What can I say? Some people are happy to hear about babies because it means they get to go shopping for adorable baby clothes. I'm happy because I get to shop for adorable baby quilting fabrics. Lol.)

Considering that we didn't know if Eric would be home, I didn't plan anything for Halloween. But I did find some incredible (and easy) tutorials online for makeup looks that anyone could do (with whatever colors they have on hand) with or without a costume. Good Fairy, Dita Von Tese, and Spider Web Eyes are my favorites. Next year I think I'll have a Halloween Mary Kay party and feature ideas like this! For something a little more discreet, check out a simple tutorial for spider web nails!

On of the best things I've read on the web all week comes from Patrice Lewis (not surprisingly). Check out the debate raging on her site over homeschooling vs. public schooling children. I know people hold their opinions on this subject fiercely but, if you can, take a couple minutes to read the post and comments. It's a very intelligent discussion, which is something to appreciate and take note of.

Today's recipe is super simple: Sourdough Pizza Dough. It was an experiment I tried last night based on a couple different online options, and it turned out well! For one small pizza (perfect for two people, about the size of a pie plate), take 1 cup of sourdough starter and one cup of flour. Mix together with a splash of olive oil and a handful of your favorite spices (I use basil, oregano, parsley and garlic salt). Knead briefly until smooth and silky, let rise one to two hours. Roll out to desired size, turning up the edges slightly (to help keep all the good stuff in!) and weight with a pie plate or cake pan to prevent the middle from bubbling (or dock if you have a pastry docker). Bake 8 min at 400*, preferably on a baking stone. Remove from the oven, brush with olive oil, top as desired and bake another 8 - 10 min. Healthy, delicious and simple - love it!

Okay, that's it out of me. I'll try to convince Eric to post some of the fabulous pictures he took in NZ soon. For now, it's back to the kitchen - there's carrot cake to be made! :0)

Happy Happy Happy

They gave him back! :0) :0) :0)

The C-5 resisted the urge to break down in the tropics and safely delivered my handsome husband home to me yesterday afternoon.

Hopefully I'll convince him to post some of the beautiful pictures he took on his trip up here soon...

Fabric

The modest beginnings of a new quilt! So excited!! :0)

Links

I wanted to share some great links that I've run across this week. Enjoy!

Pray. Vote. Buy more ammo. Fun bumper stickers from Patrice Lewis.

'Airplane!' director cuts ad poking fun at Boxer for 'ma'am' exchange with general Short, but very well done. Check it out.

Antifreeze in Your Ice Cream. Another reason why I hate the GRAS (generally recogized as safe) provision of the FDA food policies, from The Healthy Home Economist.

Proposed Jail Time for Parents Who Skip School Conferences. This is a can of worms waiting to happen!

Is College Worth It? Some interesting numbers and a debate.

Latest Food Recall: Celery

Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal

How could you not read a book with a title like this?!

This book is amazing and should be on everyone's reading list. A funny, easy to read narrative about one farmer's battles with the convoluted, illogical, politically charged and unrealistic food laws currently strangling the Real Food movement in the United States, it will change the way you look at food, farmers and the regulators who are supposedly looking out for the public.

Please go to your library or bookstore and get a copy. If we're ever going to fix the ludicrous food system in America, we need this kind of information. The author actually offers realistic alternatives and solutions instead of just complaining, so it's well worth the time to read!

(Shared on The Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania!)

PSA: Bleach Commercial

Just because it's really annoying me, I wanted to make a Public Service Announcement here about the new Clorox Bleach Commercial on tv. While I fully appreciate the use of bleach on things like clothing and floors, it is ludicrous to tell people that they can soak their children's toys or their dog's food dish in bleach, then "rinse it off" and give it back. Bleach is dangerous if not used properly and it needs to be fully washed off with soap and water!

If you're looking for a quick detox, use castile soap or peroxide. Peroxide especially is dirt cheap, readily available and completely safe. Do not believe commercials. Ever.

Thank you.