The Flavors of Fall

I just can't seem to get enough of the flavors that Fall brings. (It must be in my genes, my brother is a pumpkin addict.) It is a good thing that you can buy canned pumpkin all year round because there are just some recipes I can't do without, even after October & November come and go. Like pumpkin waffles and pumpkin cookies. Here are a couple of recipes that I recently tried out on my family that we all really enjoyed. The muffins stayed moist for days and were even good cold right out of the fridge. And the soup . . . oh, the soup . . . Let me just tell a quick story.

When I was at BYU I came home for the holidays and somehow got roped into being in a play, "A Christmas Carol," at the last minute because someone dropped out. It turned out to be OK, I had a small, simple part and basically just had to die on stage dressed in a flowy white nightgown. It happened to be President Howard W. Hunter's son's family who was putting this play on and after one of our performances we went to their home for a little social. Sister Hunter served the most delicious pumpkin soup - it was a little sweet, but not too sweet, and it was one of the most delicious things I had ever tasted. Stamped on my memory, I have not forgotten it all these years later. I have been on the hunt (no pun intended) for a recipe that would come close to the flavors I remembered in that pumpkin soup. As soon as I tasted the Butternut Squash soup, my first thought was that this is as close as I have ever come. If you could put the holidays in one bowl this would be it! It would make a perfect appetizer to a beautiful holiday dinner.



Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C oil
2 C finely grated peeled apples

Streusel:
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cold butter

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apples. Fill paper lined or sprayed muffin tins 2/3 full. In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon for the streusel. Cut in the butter until it is crumble. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Makes 18 muffins.

Notes: These are pretty sweet muffins! Cake really. I might think about increasing the salt a little next time and maybe even decreasing the sugar a touch.




Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

2 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 C peeled and diced butternut squash
2 large apples (any kind) peeled, cored and chopped
3 C low sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 C fresh apple cider (NOT apple juice)
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves

Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Stir in onions, cover and, cook 10 minutes. Add squash, apples, broth, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low; simmer, covered, until the squash and apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. While the soup simmers, pour the cider into a medium skillet. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 5 Tbsp. Set aside. Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Spoon the solids into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Stir back into remaining liquid. Add the reduced cider. Reheat soup and stir in the brown sugar and spices.

Notes: I used one granny smith apple and one honeycrisp. I will consider adding a little garlic next time too. This soup is divine but may be a little too sweet for some. Taste it before you add the brown sugar and decide if you want to add both Tbsp. And I would definitely NOT serve it with the muffins, just in case you were thinking of overloading on the flavors of Fall. This soup needs something truly savory to accompany it. Enjoy!

Super Bowl Food

OK - so we didn't watch the Super Bowl or have a party but this is what we had for dinner last night. I got the recipe from Family Fun Magazine. I decided to make some Lettuce Wraps to go with it - a recipe that I got from another blog (sorry can't remember which one). I was sure my soup was going to be better than the lettuce wraps cause I knew they couldn't stand up to P.F. Changs. I was wrong! The soup was good but the lettuce wraps were great! I assumed that my kids would turn their noses up at the lettuce so I just dished them up a pile of rice and meat. When CMH saw how the adults were eating, with the good stuff all wrapped up in a big lettuce leaf, he was intrigued and wanted to give it a try. He loved it! Wow - I was shocked. It actually ended up being a very kid friendly dinner. And the lettuce wraps are a seriously low fat meal!

Here are both recipes. Have your kids help you fold the wontons - they'll have so much fun. Enjoy.

PS - the beautiful bowl in the picture is one in a set my MIL got for me last year when she went to Japan. I love them.


Wonton Soup

For the soup:
5 C chicken broth
2 C water
4 thin slices of fresh ginger
5 bok choy leaves (I don't love bok choy but this is mostly for color - it doesn't taste strongly at all cut thinly in this soup)
pepper

For the wontons:
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 Tb. fresh minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
35-40 wonton wrappers

Combine the broth, water and ginger slices. Cover and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let it sit. Wash the bok choy and cut into thin slices, set aside.

Combine all ingredients for the wontons, except the wrappers. Mix well (I used my hands). Remove wontons from their package but keep covered so they don't dry out. To assemble the wontons: with your finger, wet all 4 edges of the wrapper. Put a teaspoon of the filling in the center and fold it over to look like a triangle. Make sure edges are sealed no air is left inside. Take the two bottom corners and pinch them together with a little water. Put finished wontons on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to use them.

Bring your broth back to a boil. Add the wontons a few at a time, keeping the broth at a low boil. Cook for 7 minutes. Open a wonton to make sure the meat is cooked through. Add the bok choy and cook for another 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste. When serving, remove the sliced of ginger from the broth and discard.


Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tb. soy sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
(I added a splash of rice vinegar and about 2 Tb. brown sugar)

Cooked rice - white or brown
Lettuce leaves

Optional veggies (diced or shredded):
carrots
green onion
cucumbers
avocado
red bell pepper
radishes

Heat up your skillet and add turkey. Add your seasonings and brown a little. At this point I added chopped crimini mushrooms. You can also add chopped water chestnuts if you like - but I would put them in at the end.

To serve, take a lettuce leaf and spoon in some meat, rice and any veggies that you like. drizzle with the dipping sauce (or you can dip it) and eat. Watch out - it gets messy! But it's so yummy.

Diping sauce #1
1/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C water
3 Tb. lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tb. ginger root (fresh or dried?)
1 tsp. sugar

Dipping sauce #2 (I used this one from a P.F. Chang's knock-off recipe)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C water
2 Tb. soy sauce
2 Tb. rice wine vinegar (is rice vinegar the same? That's what I used)
2-3 Tb ketchup
1 Tb. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tb. hot mustard(I used regular and was just going to add Tapatio if it needed it)
1-2 tsp. red chile past with garlic - this is good stuff!
Dissolve the sugar in the water and then add all of the rest of the ingredients - putting in the mustard last. (Mix a liitle of the sauce with the mustard and then add it so it doesn't just stay in clumps in the sauce.) It will be very thin. I added a little more of this and that to my taste - you can do the same.