Happy New Year! I will get back on the horse and check out food, recipes, and community stuff. Missed you guys! <3

I didn’t feel like making a pie today. I wanted something to snack on that had pumpkin in it. I already made muffins, but I’ve never made them in cookie form. Pumpkin and chocolate? Yum. Though now I have to pick up more pumpkins to carve for later. That just means I give myself an excuse to go on another hay ride this year and maybe pick some apples while I search for the perfect carving pumpkin. That is part of why I love fall. The weather is just right where you don’t sweat when hiking, the leaves change, and I get this need to want to bake again. Colder weather makes me think of warm apple cider and cuddling.

At the Farmer’s Market I went to in Tyngsboro, MA, I bought a sugar pumpkin. I not only wanted to post this recipe up, but I wanted to give quick instructions on how to make your own pumpkin puree from scratch. I found a quick instruction on how to do it on About.com (Southern Food). I’m just going to quote them:

“To make pumpkin purée, cut pumpkin in half, crosswise. Remove seeds and membranes. Place on a greased baking sheet, cut side down, and bake at 325° for 1 hour, or until tender. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove pulp and place in blender or processor. Purée or process until smooth. Place in a cheesecloth-lined mesh strainer or sieve and let drain into a bowl for about an hour. When dripping has stopped, put purée into a container, cover, and refrigerate if not using right away.” – http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkins/r/bl30826c.htm

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields about 36 cookies

You Need:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons Pumpkin All Spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips (preferably mini)

Step 1: Set the oven to 350 degrees. On 2 baking sheets put parchment paper (It’s less of a mess and faster clean up time).

Step 2: In a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, all spice, and salt.

Step 3: In a kitchen aid or large bowl with electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beating just until blended.

Step 4: Add in the dry ingredients.

Step 5: Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips

Step 6: Using a cookie scoop, put the dough 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.

Step 7: Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep the cookies on the sheets until cooled before transferring them  to wire racks.

Mine were really stuffed with Chocolate Chips.

In other news, I ran a 5k last weekend. The race was in honor of Jack Kerouac, the famous writer from Lowell, MA. I finished in about 31 minutes. Not bad for not running in a long while. I want to try and do some more of them, because I love being in a large group running towards the same finish line. It’s healthy competition, and I can talk to people as I push forward. You meet and see the most interesting people when running. If you haven’t joined a race, I highly recommend it. Even if you are going to walk, the experience is worth it.

Hey Readers!

Lots of things have been going on in my life. I’ve been attempted to set up a new job while continuing my education. I love my classes in my Environmental Health major, and I’m looking into future paid internships at the USDA. So that’s basically where I have been. This is my quick and delicious recipe for days when I really just need to focus on homework.

Today I got to go to the Tyngsboro, MA Farmer’s Market. It’s the 2nd to last week as of today; I suggest checking it out next Sunday from 9am-12pm if you are in the area. Click on the picture below for their website.

So I’ve been trying to hop back onto the healthy mode, but it can be hard when you are going to school full time. There is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant I love in Lowell called Life Alive. This is like a knock-off easy version that I make at home when I lack the money.

The Knocker of Off Meal

You need:

• Medium Tub Tofu (or any of your preference)
• Kale
• Baby carrots
• Quinoa
• Trader Joe’s Sesame Soy Ginger Fat Free Vinaigrette

Step 1: Cook quinoa either as instructed on bag/box or just 1/2 a cup of Quinoa in 1 cup water. Boil the water and quinoa. When it starts boiling, cover and set to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Step 2: Cut up your baby carrots into small pieces and rip apart your kale. The last 7-5 minutes of cooking your quinoa, put in the carrots and kale. Stir occasionally and cover when not stirring pot.

Step 3: Cut up your tofu into small 1 inch cubes. Keep on a plate until ingredients in pot are done. Add when serving. Drizzle the Vinaigrette over your plate or bowl of food and devour!
A cool find that I want to pick up:

These stoneware holders are great for fruits and vegetables. Now you can keep them out on your table or in your kitchen. They are easy to clean, and love the colors they come in. I think I might get one in every color. My favorite? The blue. Anthropologie sells them for $14.00 each and they are microwave/dishwasher safe.

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I know that it’s still August, but even Trader Joes has tempted me with Fall by bringing out their Pumpkin Ales. Soon Starbucks will have their Pumpkin Lattes, and Dunkin Donuts will bring out their famous Pumpkin Muffins. Well, why not make something much more delicious at home and the correct portion size?

Trader Joes Pumpkin Ale is Available!

Fall is probably one of my favorite seasons. Back to school clothes, new supplies, layered clothing, cute boots, and some of my favorite veggies are in season. I have some great soup ideas and hearty foods for the coming weather. I don’t know how things will go for me in the future balancing school and college, but I do know that I want to stay fit and healthy during it all. Fall is the mental and physical setup time before I am forced to keep a routine to make it through the winter. I can’t wait to hear the crunch of leaves under my boots again.

As much as I love summertime, I notice I get lazy in the heat. Cooking and baking is harder, and it is very easy to become lazy in the heat.

So let’s look forward to a wonderful autumn (Especially considering I’m in New England), and make something delicious. Here is the recipe for my pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting.

You Need for the Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup veggie oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• brown sugar to sprinkle

You Need for the Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 4 oz of Cream Cheese at room temp
• 1 cup confectionary sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Set oven to 350.

2.In a large bowl, add your sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well.

3. In a smaller bowl, stir your flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice. Mix well.

4. Add the smaller bowl into the large bowl. Stir until moistened.

5. Spoon into a greased cupcake pan or use cupcake paper cups. Fill 2/3 full.

6. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each muffin.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a testing stick comes out clean.

While that is baking, you can start on your cream cheese glaze.

1. Whip your room temp. cream cheese with your butter and vanilla extract together.

2. Slowly add your confectioner sugar to the mix until you have a glaze. You want it to be a thick glaze. Not too runny, but not a frosting.

3. Once the muffins have cooled, drizzle the glaze onto the muffins.

Enjoy!

In other news,

Chrissy and I just siphoned our Malbec wine into the carboy. A couple more weeks and it’ll be ready to bottle. You know that there will be a giveaway then!

*Details in post

I just got back from my vacation in Acadia, Maine. What a gorgeous place! After 3 years of wanting to go, I finally went camping there. Acadia is one of those places that there is simply too much to do in such a short period of time. I’m going to have to go back and plan out more. For the most part, my meals consisted of lobster rolls and clam chowder. I really wanted to go visit Jordan’s Pond for some tea and their legendary popovers, but I couldn’t justify close to 15 dollars and up on simple desserts and tea. Instead, I bought the Popover mix and some fresh wild blueberry jam from Maine. I was trying to find something to bring back to hold a little reader’s contest, and I felt that the jam and popovers really reflect well on Acadia.

Even the Abbe Native American Museum mentioned them.

Today I had a mini tea party with my friend Kelly, my Nana, and my mom. It was very last minute, and it was more so that I could try and make my popovers to sample. English Black Tea was served with the sweets. I whipped up some honey oat bars with mixed raisins to go with my raspberry jam.

Popovers, I feel, are a little overrated for the way they sound. Plain ones are fine with jam, but I think next time I might try making a chive and gouda popover. Maybe even ones with meat inside. They are delicious with tea, I will give popovers that. I feel like I don’t use my tea cups enough, or even make fun luncheon snacks instead of one huge meal.

Jordan’s Pond is a place where this farmer’s wife used to serve popovers and tea to the hotty- totty of Mt. Desert Island. It was a “thing to do” and all day affair getting to Jordan’s Pond in the early 1900s.

How to make your own Popovers:

(For 8-12 popovers)

You Need:

Four eggs
Two cups milk (I used 2 percent)
Two cups flour
One-half teaspoon salt
One-sixth teaspoon baking soda

(I make the batter a day ahead of time, refrigerating it, and then letting it return to room temperature for 1 hour.)

2. Set oven to 450

3. Mix your eggs and milk together until smooth. Once well mixed, add your dry ingredients.

4. Fill your greased popover pan 3/4 with your batter and bake for 14 minutes at 450.

5. Without opening the oven, turn the oven down to 350 and add an extra 15 minutes to the clock.

6. Stuff with ice cream, meat, or just use jam when you serve. It tastes amazing right out of the oven like most things.

I’m sure the view from the farm house made the trip to Jordan’s Pond worth it. I mean, look at some of my pictures of Acadia. This place will take your breath away. I highly suggest taking a ride on the Margaret Todd Ship in Bar Harbor. It is a great way to see the islands, ocean, and animals around Mt. Desert Island.

My giveaway gift is a small jar of wild blueberry jam, Jordan’s Pond original Popover Mix, and a couple of English Tea Bags to go with it. If you would like to win my little gift, all you need to do is:

1. Leave a comment below with your email address and a little comment about what you would like to see more of on my blog or something you like.

2.. Subscribe to my blog OR if you are already a reader, forward my blog to a friend and have them subscribe. Just leave their name in your message below.

Contest will run from Monday, Aug 6th- Sunday, Aug 12th. I will email the winner.

This past weekend I had the best time with a couple of my friends up at Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire. We had planned a weekend of swimming and hiking up near the White Mountains. One thing we all agreed on was that we wanted to eat decently healthy. It almost seems like a waste to enjoy the outdoors and pig out only on chips, preservatives, and food mostly made of fat. So I wanted to go over some tips that I have learned and still learning during my great outdoor adventures.

First off. Look at this.

Imagine being out on this lake and everywhere you turn there is just mountains surrounding you. The sand in the water has glittering bits of mica that make the waters seem like a diamond in sunlight. The air was fresh, and the weather was gorgeous. My friends, Chrissy and Kristin, were so hyped about going out on the boat called Hydro Therapy. It was pure therapy. The loons lifted their heads high as we blasted their call on the boat stereo. Kristin’s boyfriend’s stepfather owned the boat and had a CD that heard a variety of Loon calls.

When we planned this trip, we thought of things that would be healthy and easy to snack on. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat huge big meals unless it’s breakfast when camping or hiking. So here are a couple of ideas to eat healthy.

Fruit salad is easy to make and great to snack on. Even better, depending on how many fruits you put into it, it can be a cheap food choice that can last for days. You can really make a large amount with just a couple of melons, strawberries, blueberries, and other fruit.

Salad and Marinated Meat are great options to prep beforehand and use as a couple of dinner or lunch options. The salad you don’t need to cook and you can wait to cut up the tomatoes so that you don’t make your salad soggy. The marinated meat is great for the fire pit grills that most camp sites offer. They will be delicious, because they will have been sitting in a ziplock bag with the dressing or marinade that you put inside with the meat.

GORP (aka trail mix) is a new word I learned that weekend. It means “Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts”. We snacked a lot on the mixture that Kristin made up. It was yogurt covered raisins, peanuts, m&ms, dried cranberries and bananas. Just throw into a bag and it packs easily for a hike. I wish I took a photo, but you really can make it with anything.

Now I’m not saying avoid eating smores. In fact, I insist you eat a smore while around the camp fire. Just know there are ways that you can eat healthy while away from the supermarket or your home. It’s all about choices.

Eating Out can be healthy too especially if it’s family owned like Rosie’s.

Open the door and hear the jingling chimes of your silverware.

When I am about to go for a hike I look to eat two things, healthy carbs and lean protein. A lot of diners offer egg whites and sometimes even bake their own bread. I lucked out with going to Rosie’s because they had a healthy section.

I picked the one in red. It was more than I could have asked for. The homefries were cooked in garlic and onions. The aroma of the freshly baked wheat bread made my mouth water.

With these simple and healthy options, this girl hiked 4 miles with a lot of uphill. It made some of the hard MA mountain climbs look like baby steps. I want to go back to the White Mountains and conquer more.

Fun Find: Veggie Art Girl in Holderness, NH

Owner: Stacey Lucas

On my way back home from Lake Ossipee, Chrissy and I passed this shop with large hula hoops in the parking lot. Bright colors are my weakness. I turned to Chrissy and asked if we could turn around. We made a U-turn and I hopped out of the car. Technically it should have been closed, but Stacey was kind enough to let me roam around and shop a bit.  She makes her own hula hoops and hand-painted signs.

I found a scrabble piece with a sunflower charm for a necklace. I picked up a charm for Chrissy with the tree of life on it. There were homemade soaps that caught my attention. I snagged a lemongrass bar that had ingredients that I actually could pronounce. An owl plate caught my eye, but I didn’t get it. Everything in the store is locally made, and Stacey said she loved that the most about her shop. She was kind enough to give me a free sample of the store’s Vegan Fig Balm.
If you get a chance, please check this place out if you are out that way or heading back south from the White Mountains.

I had just finished my workout at the gym, and I wanted to really avoid the Friday pizza night. It’s really hard to get back on track when you have slacked off. That goes for anything; not just the gym. Like this website for example. I really want to progress further, but due to money and my head being all fuzzy/ baking blocked… well I’ll get on the ball. Anyways, this was what I was striving for, and it is not as easy as it looks. My friend Megan sent me a photo on Facebook of this:

I thought to give it a try and share it on my page as well on Facebook. Here is my adventure with what I like to call Peter Piper’s Eggy.

1. Cut your peppers (any color you wish) into 1-2 inch thick slices for each person. You will also cut your tomatoes 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick if you plan to put it in the middle of your pepper.

2. On Medium-high heat, place your peppers in a sprayed skillet. When hot, pour a little bit of egg whites for the base. Let it turn white and now you can add your tomato in the middle if you want to. Then place your egg on top to cook. Flip once firm on one side and fast. I’m never good at the flipping part, but it worked for me this time. I put paprika on both sides of the egg each time I flipped. Paprika makes me think of deviled eggs.

It may not have turned out as pretty as the picture that inspired it, but it was very delicious. Maybe with a couple more tries I can get it to look just as nice. Please post pictures of yours if you try this!

This is a very simple and very cheap project to really bring life into your tables or even chairs. In an earlier post I mentioned I loved to have wild colored furniture. I have been collecting magazine pictures, CD album art, my own photography, and things I’ve found in my travels. I bought a really cheap coffee table at Ikea, and I plan to do something similar with my round coffee table. I actually might use blackboard paint on it so that I can doodle or make notes on the table for parties.

My good friend Hollee helped make this a wonderful memory. We are hoping to be roommates next year. It’s these types of projects that I look forward to doing with other people.

All you need is:

• glue stick
• piece of furniture
• clear polyurethane varnish
• paint if you want to add more color in between your clippings
• magazine clippings, art, photos, and anything else you want for it

1. Glue down your artwork as you want it on the piece of furniture with the glue stick. Make sure to smooth out the pieces and let dry. Use your paint now to really bring the clippings together.

2. Once dry, spray or paint on the clear polyurethane varnish. You will need to do a couple of coats and then let it fully dry.

3. Set somewhere in your home and love your work.

I also picked up this really cute dress thanks to Hollee. We raced to the mall 10 minutes before it closed to pick up the dress I put on hold. I love this dress and can’t wait to wear it with combat boots.

Dreaming up some sweets. Will most likely have a a new post early this week. <3

Tired of the same old pasta, meat, tomato sauce on you Wednesday Pasta Nights? Try this kick of flavor. It doesn’t take long and it’s a burst of herbs and spices that latch onto the pasta, broccolini, and lentils.

What you need:

• Olive oil
• Rotini pasta of your choice, 16 oz
• 1 cup of lentils ( I use Trader Joes steamed lentil package because it’s sometimes just faster all around

• 4 cups of free range chicken broth, and a 1/2 cup for later use in recipe

• 6 cloves of garlic or use minced garlic and use the measurements on the jar
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 5 stalks of broccolini
• 1 shallot, sliced up
• 1 lemon for juice
• 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp of truffle oil

• Shredded Parmesan to sprinkle

Step 1: Bring water to a boil according to the directions on your rotini bag or box. Sprinkle some salt and olive oil into the water as you are waiting for it to boil. Cook and strain. Leave out of the way while you prepare the rest.

Step 2: Take 4 cups of your chicken broth and bring to a boil in another pot. Add lentils to the broth after soaking them in water while you wait for the broth to boil. Take a steamer and add your broccolini into it. Place it on top of pot and keep there until you finish with this step.  Strain and place the lentils into the boiling broth. Bring it down to a simmer and cover for five minutes. Strain again and place in a bowl until needed. Put cold water on your broccolini to stop it from continuing to cook in a bowl off to the side.

Step 3: In a large saucepan, use olive oil and put heat on medium. You want to brown your garlic for less than a minute and then add your 1/2 cup of broth to the garlic. Add your garam masala as well. Boil all these things together and then reduce heat to add butter in. Melt the butter.

Step 4: Add the lentils and cook until the broth is absorbed.

Add your pasta and shallot to the lentils. Cook for 7 minutes. Now add your fresh parsley, broccolini, lemon juice of one lemon, and the truffle oil. Tip: To get the juice from lemons easier, cut from point to point of the lemon. Then cut those two slices in half. It will have a little white skin from the center on it. Shave that off and squeezing the juice will come easy.

Add salt and pepper if you prefer. This feeds about 6 people. I feel like it could even feed 8 depending on portion size. Place the Parmesan cheese on top of the meal.

In other news…

I found a baby bunny today!

It was so scared. My dad and I tried to lead it back to where it was before my dog tried to capture it. I’ve never seen such a tiny bunny like that.

I also went to this place in Lowell, MA called Humanity. It’s a decently well priced clothing store and has a lot of cool apartment stuff. I decided to scope it out and treat myself to a couple of things. If you are in town, I suggest checking it out.

Fedora and a Skort

Summertime makes me think of a couple of main things. The smell of BBQ wafting into the streets as you drive or walk by. Sunscreen white as snow sticking on sections of your face you forgot to rub in. Cold ice tea or lemonade dribbling down thirsty lips and throats. Fire cracker red, white, and blue popsicles in all their patriotic glory. Of course, the one thing I always look forward to is caprese. The room temperature mozzarella clinging to the juicy ripe tomatoes with basil to accent it all into perfection. A wonderful snack, and an even better panini sandwich.

This is the most easy snack or meal you could ever make besides a PBJ.

You Need:

• 1 large ripe tomato
• large fresh basil leaves
• thick cuts of mozzarella, but if you are watching potions you can use the thin pre sliced at your local market
• olive oil
• 2 slices of your favorite bread. I think pumpernickel would be amazing with this but I lacked it. Whole wheat worked.
• Grilled mushrooms (optional)

1. Make your sandwich with mozzarella, tomato, basil and optional mushrooms.

2. Lightly coat each outer side of the bread with olive oil. You can make it grilled version in a skillet or put it into a panini press.

3. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until you get how you like it cooked.

Besides gorging myself on this little piece of heaven, I got to pick out my classes today. I enrolled back into college to finish with a BS in Environmental Health. I want to really focus more on the Food Safety and Agricultural studies. According to my advisor I should be done spring of 2015, but I plan to take summer courses to make the graduation date come sooner. I’m also enrolled in the Honors Society; the smart cookie I am.

On my way home I remembered that the Westford Farmer’s Market is every Tuesday, 2:30-6pm. I’ve been meaning to swing by there for awhile now, and I finally got a chance to explore some local produce and products. I recently found out that there is one in my town and a couple towns around me as well. I wish they would advertise more or at least had a section in the Local Paper dedicated to local farms/products/ and a sort of highlight of the week. Maybe I will have to do that on here. I will just need to research some more. But back to the Farmer’s Market…

This stand that has Hill Orchard on the sign had some of the most gorgeous looking berries and peaches I’d laid eyes on this year. On top of that they had multiple blueberry bushes for sale in front of their stand.

La Bella Dolce had a wide variety of sweets. This woman who bakes all of these treats was so kind letting me know that she wasn’t completely sure that it was all completely nut free. I love when places can be very upfront and honest with you even though they may lose out on a sale. For that I suggest, no urge you, to order something from this classic Italian style bakery. Her chocolate chip cookies looked like they would have melted in my mouth.

Dragonfly Farms had so many colors and neatly were sectioned off. The ladies running the stand sadly ran out of fresh eggs before I could snag any. I suggest getting there early if you want to get your eggs. Even if you miss out on the eggs, check out their other produce.

There were two wine stands. I’m not a huge fan of apple wine, but it was one of the main things we did in America as our first spirits. Apples were only really used for cider (hard cider would be redundant). Apple wine is worth a try if you are only used to grape wines.

I really loved La Belle’s red wine they offered. Both gave wine samples so you aren’t in the dark with what you are buying.

From this stand, I tried buying something I’d never tasted before. I heard a similar comment made by a mother to her daughter. She took her over to the stand and told the little girl to pick out at least 2 new pieces of food she had never tried before. I love that. Allowing not only a child to explore but to take control of her own tastes and understand her food. I ended up picking the Kohlrabi for 2 dollars. It sort of tastes like cabbage at first and then the quick spice flavor of a radish. I’m trying to figure out what to do with it, any ideas?

I picked up some fresh honey from Pepperell, MA. I keep being told that if you eat a spoonful of local honey it will help with your allergies. If you remember, my allergies to food comes from the pollen issue I have with trees. I love nature… nature hates me. I’ll keep hugging though.

The final purchase that I got was a bagel.

I’m a terrible carb fiend. The yellow sign called to me and I was lured toward the table filled with large paper bags stuffed with assorted bagels. The owner of the stand assured me that none of his bagels had any form of nuts or peanuts. I’m going back next week to grab a lot of them, but for now this one attracted me:

Oh I will have a feast for breakfast based around this one bagel. I swear it!

So if you have some time and are local on Tuesdays, head on over to Westford Farmer’s Market and support local. I’m off to go weed my crazy garden. Apparently I have summer squash growing in.

Isn’t she lovely?

Happy cooking or baking!