Tastes of fall

Oh, hey there, baby. I'm pumpkin bread. Full of spice and errthin nice.
Moist, a lovely speckled orange shade, and seasonal... Look, even the autumn leaves want in on the action.
This pumpkin bread is simple and best the next day. The recipe I used yields 3 sizable loaves-- I've finished almost half a loaf on my own, one is going in the freezer for later, and the other's going to friends... Celebrate the season yo. Recipe's at the bottom of this post with my adaptations, the main change being a sugar reduction.

Oven steak fries (dried oregano, salt). Photo by Eunice!

Eunice C. and I made chili (and steak fries) last week for the first time. We went purty crazy and put things in such as cocoa powder, beer, turkey bacon, and chipotle in adobo... It was good, though we both agreed that the flavor was a bit too heavy/"rich" and that it was better the next day.. I think after I added more stock, tomato puree and tomato paste it tasted a lot more chili-like.

Photo by Eunice C.

We're gonna take another stab at it soon, so I'll post the improved recipe then. Speaking of stab, I got tattoos of a knife and fork, but more on that in the next entry. Until then, savor the season with all things fall and delicious.

Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Laurie Bennett's recipe. Adaptations in italics.

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil (this may seem like a lot, but it's for 3 large loaves, none of which you'll finish off alone.. right?)
  
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar *I reduced to 1 2/3 cups sugar
  
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

*1 tbsp pumpkin spice instead of all of the below

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour (I didn't flour and it was fine) three 7x3 inch loaf pans (my loaf pans ran a little bigger).
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes (mine ran close to about 55-60 minutes) in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Random food fact: I ate a lot of food today and I'm too tired to find real food trivia.


Cheers,
T

Happy 21st, Eunice and John!

First, let's get some ear candy goin' on.

Honey Bee by Zee Avi (so excited to see her play @ the Tea Bazaar Nov 6! Christy and I are going. Come with.)


Feelin more soul/r&b? Make Me Whole by Amel Larrieux is one of my all-time favorite songs... I think this might be my future wedding song


Happy birthday to two vurrry special 3rd years, Eunice and John! There was a little class potluck to celebrate, and I made my favorite chicken salad. I'm glad to have been an honorary third year tonight :p but I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be the noob server (according to Joe and co.). Sike. Anyway, Eunice and John, I feel blessed to know yall here at the Univ and pray that God watches over both of you on this special day & beyond!


I've been making chicken salad more or less like this for a couple years now, though today was the first time I added pomegranate seeds. I love the sweet, tangy crunch it gives the salad, much more than grapes or craisins (both of which are still delicious in chick salad). I think pomegranate is gonna become an official part of my recipe from now on :) No one has ever disliked this salad, which is super simple and fresh-- a very easy departure from those mushy chicken, relish-laden, bland chicken salads that you see around. I say save the abnormally creamy meat and relish for tuna salad. CHICKEN salad is a whole other creature yo

Photo by the talented Angela W. :) Thanks for letting me borrow!

My favorite chicken salad
I wish I could give you a serving size, but I have no idea. hehe

For chicken:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts- butterflied, rinsed and patted dry
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• couple cracks of black pepper (I like the black specks.. If you don't, use white pepper)
  
• couple pinches of garlic powder- optional

For dressing:

• quarter of an onion, minced (red is pretty, white/yellow works just as well)
  
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• juice of half a lime
• pinch of salt, couple cracks of pepper
  
• 2 small stalks scallions, chopped (reserve half of one for garnish)
• about 2-3 "sections" of a pomegranate (reserve ~1 tbsp for garnish)
• mayo (as little or as much as you'd like)
  

For chicken:
Heat a saute pan on medium-high. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on butterflied chicken breasts and lightly rub to coat. Pour a tiny bit of oil into pan, swirl around and place chicken in in one layer. Cover loosely with foil to prevent splattering (just in case there's still water on your chicken. Water + oil in a pan = sizzlin pain fo you). Cook for ~3 min each side, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside to rest while you prepare the dressing.

For dressing:
Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. The amount of mayo is to your preference; I usually add 3-4 heaping spoonfuls at first and gradually add more if needed.

Chop chicken into small pieces and mix into dressing. The salad tastes best when placed in the fridge for at least 30 mins so flavors can meld together, but you can still serve right away :) Garnish with reserved scallions and pomegranate seeds and serve with crackers or bread.

Note: If you don't like raw onion flavor, soak minced onion (minced as tiny as you can so there aren't chunks!) in cold water for a few minutes and drain before adding.


Random food fact: there are about 600 seeds in each pomegranate.

Cheers,
T