Friday, October 14, 2011

CSA - Week 21


This week we got butternut squash, dill, taters, tomatoes, stir-fry greens and mustard greens

Monday, October 10, 2011

It's a universal truth

That a trip to Targét to get thank you cards, goes from this:


to this:

and the thought process that evolves a $6 trip into a $50 spree is:
"Oh! The Dollar Spot. I got to check this shit out. What can I not live without but don't want to spend more than a dollar on? Ah-ha! Elmo coloring book WITH FUCKING STICKERS!!!! Yeah, I'll put that bitch in the cart. The Good Daughter didn't see it, so I can hide that when I get home and give it to her later. Oh, a baby Big Bird book. I have to have that and there is a Cookie Monster one too! I can't just get one fucking board book. Throw that whore in the back of the cart.

"What's this? Finger puppets? Well, fuck me. Our house is sorely lacking finger puppets. Which one to get? The unicorn/frog combo or the wizard/queen? I love unicorns, so that's a no brainer. But I love wizards. Hmmm. Which to get, which to get? What! Did I forget where I was? This is the motherfucking Dollar Spot, slut! Get both those finger puppet bitches!"

and so it goes that way for 45 minutes while I throw a toy in the cart b/c TGD was being a good girl while her mom walked around the T, out of her ever lovin mind. And the line was too long in the check out lane, which got me gum AND a magazine AND candy AND FUCKING LIP GLOSS, b/c I'm like Ted Haggard when faced with meth and gay sex and can't turn that shit down.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

CSA - Week 20


This week we got brussel sprouts (that ugly thing up there), turnips, taters, parsley, peppers, kale, radish

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pumpkin Donuts

I have a confession to make. 

The Good Husband didn't know I had a blog for about 2 years. I don't know why he never questioned all the food photo taking, but whatever. Then a coworker asked for a recipe of mine and I emailed her the link to this blog. Then in talking to TGH, told him how she loved the blog.

He had no idea what the hell she was talking about and spend the rest of the day reading this. The first thing he said when he saw me after work that night was that I curse too much on here.

I laughed and told him if only he heard me in the kitchen. Like when I made these donuts, the second stop on our pumpkin tour, and spilled the bag on flour all over the floor. *(&^%^$&;%!!!

The original recipe called for the donuts to be brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar but I skipped that step, however, I have included it in the directions if you want to do it.


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
Cinnamon and sugar, for rolling
1/2 cup butter, for dipping

Directions:
~Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

~In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the dry ingredients. Beat in the pumpkin, eggs, milk, and butter until well combined. Fill a large ziploc bag and snip off the end. Pipe into the donut pan. The batter will be thick.
~Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  Cool on a wire rack.

~Melt the 1/2 cup of butter in a small dish and mix together cinnamon and sugar in a second dish for dipping. Dip the donuts in the butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

recipe modified from: here

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pumpkin Truffles

So I thought I would start off the week showcasing the sweet side of pumpkin and not with a fucking pumpkin pie. 

I have wanted to make truffles for a while now and thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find a good pumpkin recipe.


I am tempted to mark this as a FAIL. They turned out U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi. 


First off, the balls were too big - that's what she said - and I was rushed making them. Then the white chocolate turned out to be a temperamental bitch that wouldn't melt for me at all. I had to do two batches before I was able to get the candy to melt and I hate when I have to throw out food I fuck up.

But, aside from the too large truffles, they were lumpy and that just won't do. Even though real truffles are not round and perfect, candy truffles should be. I will have to work on my truffle making skills.

Size and shape aside, the taste was great and everyone that tried them LOVED them. So only a semi-FAIL.

Ingredients:
1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 5 oz)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup finely ground gingersnaps
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch of orange zest
4 oz. cream cheese, softened 

For dipping:
16 oz. chopped white chocolate, melted 

For garnish:
Additional gingersnap crumbs 
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions: 
~To make the filling, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water just until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.  Add the pumpkin, gingersnap and graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and cream cheese.  Mix well until completely blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to the refrigerator or freezer until it has thickened up enough to scoop and roll into balls (about 1 hour).

~Scoop the filling mixture and roll into balls, about 1 inch in diameter.  Transfer to a lined baking sheet.  Chill until in freezer until firm, about 2 hours.

~To dip the truffles, melt the white chocolate* in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water.  Once completely melted and smooth, carefully dip one of the balls into the chocolate.  Turn quickly to coat and balance on the tines of a fork to shake off the excess.  Transfer to a lined baking sheet and sprinkle with additional gingersnap crumbs, if desired.

~Repeat with the remaining filling balls.  Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill until the coating is set.

*I used Ghirardelli white chocolate bars to dip the truffles. I had originally used white chocolate chips and the chocolate refused to melt. The chocolate bar melted as it should and was easy to work with.

recipe by: Annie's Eats

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pureed Pumpkin

Since we got pumpkin this week, the easiest thing to do was make puree. 

My mom likes to tell me of the time my aunt made pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin one Thanksgiving and how it tasted like shit. I've been haunted by that story ever since. It convinced me that eat a real pumpkin would be a daunting task, one doomed to failure and food tasting like shit.

But I over came that fear and pureed up my pumpkin. B/C really, it was too early to carve that bitch.

Roasted it was so easy and now that I have a full size food processor, pureeing it was easy too.

And I was able to make pumpkin spice syrup and lattes, pumpkin truffles and pumpkin donuts.

And I didn't attempt pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:
1 pumpkin

Directions:
~Remove stem and cut in half. Remove seeds and guts, reserving seeds if desired. (I hate pumpkin seeds, so mine got composted.) Place pumpkin on cookie sheet, cut side up and roast at 350 degrees to 1 to 1 1/2 hour or until soft. Allow to cool. 

~Scoop insides into a food processor and puree until smooth, about 5 minutes. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Monday, October 3, 2011

CSA - Week 19

No photo this week. Sorry.

We got pumpkin, watermelon, acorn squash, radish, arugula, taters, chard and peppers