Pumpkin Hummus

I came up with a spicy twist for the ever so popular pumpkin hummus. If you're not afraid of a little heat in this chilly weather season, try it out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Pumpkin Hummus is a delightful dish to bring to potlucks or neighborhood Halloween parties. It tastes great with the usual accompaniments, such as veggies, crackers, pita bread, or tortilla chips. Try serving it in a small hollowed out pumpkin for a little whimsy. If you're leery of pumpkin possibly overpowering the hummus, don't be. Stick to the canned pumpkin puree (it's available as organic too) and you can't miss. You can find organic brand for all of the ingredients below.

1 can of pumpkin puree
1 can of chickpeas
1 chipotle pepper
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of tahini
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 peeled garlic clove
1/4 cup of water (adjust to consistency preference)
1 peeled cucumber
1 small pumpkin hollowed out to use as serving vessel

Peel and slice the cucumber and let it sit in ice water about five minutes for ultimate crispness. Drain, set aside. Hollow out a small pumpkin, sprinkle interior with salt and pepper. Next, combine and puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Puree and transfer to pumpkin shell serving bowl. Serve over toast or bread of your choice, top with cucumber slice.

Eggplant

I love cooking with eggplant. Normally, I pick up the traditional purple variety from my local farmers market. I've tried the Japanese variety, but I prefer the plain old purple ones. Usually, after peeling and dicing it into cubes, I freeze the other half to save for another recipe. Here's one of my favorite eggplant recipes:

1 half of a cubed eggplant
16 ounces of shrimp
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 pint of whipping cream
1 cup of olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic
angel hair pasta (any kind will do)
1/2 small onion
3 stems of green onion
1/2 green bellpepper
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatos

To make basil sauce, rinse and blend basil, garlic, olive oil and cream. Sautee onion, bellpepper, and green onion. Add shrimp and eggplant, sautee for 5 minutes until eggplant sweats, add diced tomatoes and basil sauce. Cook on medium fire for 20 minutes, simmer on low medium for an additional 10 minutes.

Sprouting

Sprouting is an easy way to garden if you're not ready for a full blown garden. If you are a busy working mother as I am, you could appreciate having a garden that doesn't require weeding and provides a quick harvest. All you really need for sprouting is a few glass mason jars, fresh water, a nylon stocking to cover the mouth of the jar, fresh water, and a dark place (with the exception of alfalfa and a few other sprouts). You can sprout just about anything from sesame seeds, to lentils, to oats and beyond. I enjoyed reading Sprout Garden by Mark M. Braunstein. It's great for beginning sprouters.

Hello,
I have been struggling with some technical difficulities. I hope that you all have been trying to cook fresh food. The next quick fresh meal I want to post is homemade hamburgers. Insead of stopping off at the McJunk stop. Try this fresh and simple homemade burger recipe.

1 pound of fresh organic grass fed beef
1/4 of a finely chopped bell pepper
2 tbs of cilantro
1/2 small onion
1 clove of garlic
sea salt and pepper to taste

mix ingredients, and form into patties. Fry in 1 tbs of olive oil.

Tuna Casserole

1 can of Albacore tuna (organic available)
2 cups of organic chicken broth
1 pint of organic whipping cream
1 bunch of asparagus spears (organic or farmer's market)
1/2 cup of sliced button mushrooms (canned organic is available)
6 pieces of sun dried tomato (organic)
1 slice of lemon (organic)
1 tblsp of capers (organic available)
1/2 small onion (organic available)
3 cloves of garlic (organic available)
1/2 cup of parmesean reggiano cheese (organic available)
1/2 lb of Orzo or Penne pasta (wheat and organic available)
1 teasp sea salt
1 teasp pepper
1/2 teasp basil
1 bayleaf
2-3 tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The above ingredients are available as organic (pesticide free/additive free) in health food stores and some chain grocery stores. Try to buy organic when possible. If you can't find organic just yet, don't let that deter you. Just make it with conventional foods and you will still see the health benefits of making a meal from scratch. You will need a food processor and a large skillet.

Pasta:
To get started, boil 2 1/2 cups of water with a drop of olive oil for the Orzo. When water begins to boil, add Orzo and stir frequently! (Orzo sticks easily) Boil pasta until el dente, drain in colander, rinse with cold water and cover with plastic wrap or wide pot lid.

Tuna topping:
Next, heat olive oil in the skillet on low medium. Chop the garlic, onion, and sun dried tomatoes in the food processor until fine, then add to skillet. In food processor, chop the lemon slice, capers and asparagus spears on pulse. You want it chunky in around 1/4 inch chunks. Add mixture to skillet. Open the tuna, drain well and add to skillet. Drain off your sliced mushrooms then add them as is to skillet (do not chop). Sautee briefly then add 1/2 the chicken broth and 1/2 the whipping cream. Add more to desired thickness. Add basil, bayleaf, salt and pepper, let simmer on low for twenty minutes, stir occasionally. Serve over Orzo.

This dish takes about 45 minutes to prepare and what an alternative to cardboard flavored tuna-so-help-me!

Welcome!

Welcome to my natural food oasis where I hope to inspire you to venture out of the box (the processed food box to be exact). Would you like to learn how to prepare healthy, hearty meals for yourself and your family from scratch without sacrificing quality after putting in long hours at the office? Are you pressed for time? Don't know where to start or whether to choose organic or conventional foods? Wondering which recipes to try? Want to know how to grocery shop frugally? Interested in knowing how to provide pure, additive free, sound nutrition for your family? All of these issues and more will be addressed in future posts, but for now, why not try cooking an organic ingredient based meal from scratch for your family tonight within 45 minutes. See my next post for Tuna Casserole.

Happy Eating!