Taste of Fall

As I’m looking through my most recent photos I’m noticing quite the trend lately…Autumn Flavors Everywhere!!  Clearly I’m not along here as I see pumpkin, squash, and apple inspired dishes all over food blogs lately! 

It all started with a classic, pumpkin bread.  Not just any pumpkin bread though…my mom’s recipe.  Although I’ve “tweeked” it a bit.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (original recipe in this post)

*makes 1 large loaf.  I have a bigger than normal loaf pan
(about 10”x5”), but you could probably get this into a regular loaf pan…it would just take longer to cook.

Preheat to 350

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 2T sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground clove

Wet Ingredients

• 3/4 can pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 3 T canola oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup water

Add wet to dry, mix just until combined, and fold in chocolate chips!  I used 1/2 cup :)

Bake for 45-50 min (50min-1hr if you get all this into a regular loaf pan)

Enjoy in the morning with a cappuccino!

   

Next up…Autumn Chowder.  This is one of those recipes that I LOVE, but somehow only end up making once a year.  I guess it’s better that way :) 

Autumn Chowder

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups chicken broth or water
• 1.5 – 2 cups yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 1.5 – 2 cups sweet potatoes, bite size pieces
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup butternut squash, chopped
• 1 tsp chicken bullion (if water was used instead of broth)
• 3.5 cups milk
• 1 bag (16oz) frozen corn
• fresh black pepper (to taste)
• 3 cups shredded cheese (combination of cheddar and Monterey jack)
• 3 tbsp flour mixed with 1 tbsp water (or more if needed to form a smooth paste)

Partially cook bacon until almost crisp. Stir in onions and cook 3-5 min until onions start to soften.

Stir in broth or water, potatoes, carrots, squash, and bullion if water was used.

Heat to boiling. Reduce head and cover. Simmer until potatoes are tender (15-20 min). Stir in milk, corn, and pepper. Heat to simmering. Mix in cheese and flour paste. Add to soup, stirring until melted.

Serve garnished with chopped scallions if desired.

Then I highly recommend picking up a fresh caramel apple from your local farmers market, farm store, apple orchard…. anywhere you can find one!

I got this one at Wilson’s Farm in Lexington, MA….delicious!

     

And just because…more Bromley pics :)

We call this stance… “The Seal Pup” because he stands and sits with his front paws turned out hehe.

Seal Pup sitting…

Did my last long run before the 10k next Monday!  I was supposed to do 5.5miles and did more like 5.9…so that made me feel good about the 6.2 in my future :)  I’ve also been going on a LOT more walks lately because of that little fluff ball above!  Dogs = instant exercise!

Broke out the boots this past weekend…fall is really here!

Full Afternoon and Full Stomach!

To kill two birds with one stone (gym and nails) I just decided to run to the nail place then run back! (its about a 3mile round trip). Done and done. I then went to the grocery store, came back and started on the pumpkin bread!

First I'll give you the original recipe...it is delicious in case you want a great item to take to a party or family gathering.

Keep in mind this makes 3 LOAVES (in case the amounts seem high).

3 1/3 Cups Sifted Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Oil
4 Eggs
2/3 Cup Water
2 Cups Pumpkin ( I Just Add 1 Can Of Pumpkin)
12 Oz. Chocolate Chips
Sift All Dry Ingredients Together
Make A Hole (Well) In The Center
Add All Remaining Ingredients
Mix Until Smooth
Stir In 12 Oz Bag Of Chocolate Chips
Grease And Flour 3 Bread Pans
Bake For 1 Hour At 350



I wanted to make a healthier version for myself, and I also didn't want to make 3 loaves.
I had a bigger bread pan than normal so I kind of halved/thirded the recipe...basically just winged it. Here is what I came up with:

Sift together:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 Cup All purpose flour


1/4 Cup Ground Flax
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Sugar



In another bowl


1/8 Cup Pumpkin Butter (the one I use is fruit juice sweetened, no sugar)
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/4 Cup Water
A little over 1/2 Can Pumpkin



Add wet to dry, then add in:
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips





Stir until blended, being careful not to over mix!!
Bake For 50 Minutes At 350
My thoughts are:
- I think I could of added a little less chocolate chips (can't believe I just said that). I guess the added choc. chips just makes it into more of a treat than say a breakfast...not that it's really going to stop me.
- Also this is not a very "spiced" bread so if you want more spice, add it!
- It didn't rise much, but I'm not sure if that's from an ingredient issue or just the amount of batter related to the larger pan size. It wasn't too dense or anything though.
- Other than that I think its REALLY good!! Just sweet enough for me, but the yummy pumpkin chocolate factor.


I bought an Acorn Squash this weekend and wanted to cook it! A lot of the recipes I saw involved stuffing the squash, and I had apples (obviously), and I remembered I had some Trader Joe's Mango Chicken Sausage in the freezer, so I took two of those out to thaw.

After reading a few recipes, here's what I came up with...


Cut the acorn squash lengthwise and bake at 350 degrees, cut side down with a little water in the pan, for 30min.

Meanwhile I got to work on the stuffing. I used:
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
2 Chicken Sausages, cut into small pieces
1 Apple, Chopped

I heated about 1 tsp grape seed oil (could use any oil), and added the onion for a few minutes. Then added the sausage for a minute, then the apple for another couple minutes.

I transferred this mixture to a bowl and added 1/2 cup quick oats (used like breadcrumbs), about 1 tsp. poultry seasoning (would of just used sage, but didn't have any), salt and pepper.

After it cooled more, I added 1 egg white before scooping it into each squash half! I put the filled squashes into a bread pan to keep them more upright and back into the oven for 20 more minutes.

I also cut up a head of broccoli, tossed it with 1 tsp of olive oil, sprinkled with S&P, and put in the oven with the squash.

I served Jocy and I each a half of a squash half, and some broccoli!

The stuffing had great flavor, but I think there was too much onion/sausage/apple mixture for the amount of oats that were added. I think it would of been better with more grains in the mixture. I also think I would of covered the filled squashes with foil...I think the squash got a tad dry but still delish! This was great for a change!