A few recipes...

This little missy had her first food today! More on that soon:)

Here are some recipes that have been in heavy rotation here at the Hunt house:)

Chunky Crunchy Granola from Simply in Season cookbook (my very favorite)

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

Mix together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup raisins, other dried fruit or nuts ( I wait to put raisins in until after I cook the rest).

Pour into the well. Mix thoroughly, making sure all loose flour has been incorporated. Spread into 9x13 in pan and bake in preheated oven at 300F, stirring every 10 minutes, until light brown, 50-60 minutes. Store in airtight container up to a week; also freezes well.

Apple & Oat Breakfast Cake from the online workshop Whole Food Kitchen by Heather Bruggeman

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/4 cups all purpose whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup sucanat

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)

2-3 apples, chopped (save 1 to slice across the top if you like)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:

1 tablespoon sucanat 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

preheat oven to 325° F lightly grease an 8x8 glass pan

1. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. 2. In a mixer combine until creamy, coconut oil, honey, sucanat, vanilla, and milk. Add

eggs, mix for another 30 seconds or so. 3. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, mix just until combined with each addition. 4. Next, add the chopped apples and walnuts, mix well. Pour into prepared pan. 5. If you chose to reserve one apple slice and arrange over the top. Sprinkle with a bit of

cinnamon and sucanat. 6. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Cool completely, then serve.

Tasty Rice and Beans from the online workshop Whole Food Kitchen by Heather Bruggeman

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 medium onion, diced fine (or shallots)

1/2 of a green pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 - 1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup long-grain brown rice, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained

2 cups water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 cups cooked pinto beans

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a medium sized pot. Add cumin and chili and sauté for a few seconds (not too long!). Add onion, green pepper, salt and black pepper, cook until veggies are soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

2. Add rice and stir well to coat. Next,add the water and tomato paste, bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat until all of the water is absorbed (40-50 minutes).

3. Once cooked, add cooked pinto beans and stir gently to combine, with a fork.

Play doh

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)
Food coloring, as desired

Directions:

1. In a 2-quart sauce pan, whisk together the flour, salt and cream of tarter. Add the water and oil and whisk until smooth. Add desired food coloring. (Keep in mind that the color will get slightly darker after it's heated.)

2. Place pan over low heat and cook and stir until it thickens and forms a ball (about 5 minutes for a single recipe). When it's impossible to stir and looks like a bug sticky lump, it's done! :)

3. Turn out onto the counter or a mat, scraping pan clean with a spatula. Knead the warm dough a couple times, and place in a loosely-covered container to cool. (Or, let the kids play with it right away!) Store in a sealed container or ziplock bag when not in use.

Jen

Signs of the season...

How fun was this fairy and elves birthday party that we went to on Halloween? So much fun! We are going to miss our friends the Hultgrens as they move to Argentina next month. They are a very kind, unique, earthy family that we all have loved getting to know (the couple pictured below is Kira's brother and his girlfriend who have beautiful voices and you can listen to here)!






The day before Halloween is when Utah celebrates, and so out we went trick-or-treating in the cold and rain! I didn't get any pictures because of the weather, etc. but Grandpa Jim got a couple. Sam dressed up as a pirate for their school party, but after that he wanted nothing else to do with dressing up. He just "wants to be Sambo", so that's who he was:) He was SUCH a trooper in the rain, not complaining once. He was so serious as he forged ahead of us all to the next house, but he did have fun saying "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!" once he had gotten his loot. That boy loves salutations:) Sweet toothed Amelia was in dreamland, of course, and asked sweetly after every house, "Can I get some more candy please?" I don't think she could quite believe what was happening. I don't think I could quite believe I was letting this sugary bonanza happen either (half the candy went bye bye to other trick or treaters after the babes went to bed so they each had about ten pieces left when they arose:). It was a fun evening with friends and thankfully no creepy teens in masks were parading round like they were last year. In fact, we were pretty much the only group out in the rain and cold on our block--hahaha.

Here are Sam and Amelia dressed up on a random evening last month, Sammy was such a cute pirate and look at that expressive English equestrian!:)

We went to a little fall festivalish activity at Thanksgiving point farm. The ponies were a big hit:)


Lastly, here is a yummy,yummy, yummy recipe that you should all run and bake:) Last night I used pumpkin insead of squash and put dark chocolate crumbles on top! It's from Simply in Season cookbook.

Winter Squash Bars:
2 cups winter squash or pumpkin (cooked, pureed)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups oil
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Beat together in mixing bowl

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Mix in. Pour into lightly greased 11x17 inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Makes 24 bars.

Off to enjoy this beautiful weather! Jen

In the kitchen...

A few recipes from my kitchen to yours. [I really am such an amateur in the kitchen. I always feel like Amelia Bedelia--afraid I am taking things literally that aren't meant to be. But, I am loving it and that is the important thing. I am nourishing my little family, and that is really the important thing. Still, I am so new to it all. Disclaimer over.]

Lemon Asparagus Pasta ( Simply in Season Cookbook--have I mentioned how much I love, love, love this cookbook. Well, I do. )

8 oz angel hair pasta

2 1/2 cups asparagus (cut into 1 inch pieces)

Cook pasta in boiling water 4 min. Add asparagus and cook 2 minutes longer or until tender. Drain.

1 TBLS butter

1/2 cup green onions

1 1/2 tsp lemon peel

3 TBLS lemon juice

While pasta cooks, melt butter in large frying pan over medium heat. Add green onions and lemon peel and saute 1 minute. Add lemon juice and cook until juice is almost evaporated.

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

Beat together. Add with pasta and asparagus to pan with green onions. Cook over low heat until milk mixture is slightly thick, about 4 minutes. Do not boil.

1 TBLS fresh dill (chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried)

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Stir in. Serve immediately.

I made this and artisan bread for my friend Karen on Wed. I really wanted something yummy because she is not an amateur in the kitchen. It was my first time making this recipe and artisan bread, and thankfully they both turned out well. Yay!!

Mexican Bean and Corn Casserole (Feeding the Whole Family cookbook)

Beans

1 cup dried black beans, soaked and drained.

1 garlic clove

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 cups water

1 tsp sea salt

Place beans in large pot with garlic clove, cumin seeds, and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, covered, until tender (50 to 60 minutes) . Add salt after beans are cooked.

Polenta

3 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBLS oil

1 cup polenta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a separate pot, bring the water to boil. Add salt and oil. Slowly add polenta, stirring continuously. Lower heat and continue stirring for 5 to 10 minutes until mixture is quite thick.

Vegetables

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 red or green pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped zucchini or shredded green cabbage

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onion, minced garlic, and salt; saute until soft.

Add pepper, zucchini, ground cumin, and oregano; saute 5 more minutes. Add cooked beans to the vegetables with tomato sauce and water. Check taste and add salt if necessary.

To assemble the casserole, preheat oven to 350. In a lightly oiled casserole dish, spread bean and vegetable mixture across the bottom. Spread the polenta on top. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 350; remove cover and 5 minutes more at 400.

Yummo! This was dinner tonight. Big thumbs up from myself, Joel, and Amelia. Sammy only wanted to eat tortilla chips. I cooked a big batch of black beans a few days ago, so that cut down on prep. time tonight which was nice.

Anyway, time to watch a movie with Joelie! Happy cooking, Jen