Day: September 20, 2010

Pumpkin, 4 ways

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That would be breakfast.  More specifically oats with chopped apple and flax seeds.

Then things got a little crazy.  I took an inspiration from Kath and my leftover pumpkin.

Boiled, mashed, and tossed into the mix.

I admit, I was a bit skeptical, even as a pumpkin lover but this girl seems to know her stuff.  Especially when it comes to pumpkins!

I also added lots of cinnamon, ground ginger, a touch of stevia, a pinch of salt, and vanilla.

Sprinkled with chopped walnuts and doused in soy-milk this was a delicious and super filling breakfast.  This pumpkin is pretty mild in the flavor department but it added a LOT of bulk (I am all about the volume eating), fiber, and vitamins.  Definitely a breakfast to repeat.

I decided to start the week in the kitchen and set about making yogurt.

You pour the milk into a double boiler.  I used Horizons fat free organic.  Set 2 tablespoons of yogurt per quart of milk out on the counter to come to room temperature.

Wait for it to reach 185 degrees while stirring occasionally.  When it reaches temperature set the pot into a sink full of cold water.  Stir occasionally as the temp comes down to 110

When the milk reaches 110 degrees add the room temp yogurt and stir well.  Pour into containers.

Set containers into a warm water bath. I use my sink but have heard that a cooler works well.  The water needs to stay as close to 100 degrees as possible.  When the temp dips I drain a bit of water out the bottom and add hot from the faucet, this is every 1-2 hours.

After 6-7 hours it’s ready to ready to put in the fridge for a few hours and then EATEN!

I also baked off the pumpkin seeds from yesterday.

I sprinkled them with cayenne, curry powder, smoked salt, and liquid aminos and popped them in the oven.

They are delicious!  I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan because I am still full from those pumpkin oats.

I still had a bit of kitchen energy left in me so it was applesauce time.  After lots of chopping I cooked the apples until they were nice and soft and into the blender they went.  I also added a bit of pumpkin, cinnamon, and ground ginger.

This will be perfect for my next batch of brownies!

And then it was lunch time. Leftover chili of course!  With toasted pumpkin seeds, greek yogurt, and chili flakes.

I am really looking forward to taking a Pilates class and a Zumba class at Gold’s this evening.  I neglected Pilates last week in favor of checking out all the classes while on my week free pass and Zumba is just so fun.

Dinner Guests

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Monday morning!

In yoga class yesterday morning the teacher kept saying “welcome to the beginning of your week” and things of that nature and my inner dialogue kept responding “Sunday’s the end of MY week”.  I donno but somehow I am more mentally prepared on Monday morning to face the week.

And Sunday is all about the recreation, leisure, and socializing.  Which is why I decided that yesterday was a good time to make some new friends.

I have been reading Kath Eats Real Food for several months now and enjoy that we share a love for running, kale chips, and all things winter squash so I figured it was time to take the next step and, ummm, eat some winter squash together!

Lucky for me, Kath and her husband Matt were down with the idea of a Sunday dinner at our place.  They biked over and two bottles of wine, two bottles of beer, three apple turnovers, and a bowl of chili later, voila, we have friends!

Now on to that chili

Remember that heirloom pumpkin I bought at the Lewiburg Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago?  Here, I’ll give you some hints

I peeled it and chopped it up and put it in a pot with chopped onion, 2 bell peppers, and  a bit of olive oil.

To this I added pinto and black beans that had been soaking in the fridge for two days.  I think I need to turn the temp up on the refrigerator because some of the water froze with some beans in it!

Soaking beans for two days or so is the only way to go in my humble opinion.  I started doing this long soak when we lived in Peru because people there are very energy conscience (usually as a necessity due to poverty) and this really cuts down cooking time and leaves you with a very soft bean.  It certainly takes a bit of forethought but if you are like my household and eat beans nearly every day than you just get in the habit of always having your next batch soaking.

Back to the chili.  Into the pot went canned tomatoes and tomato paste, chopped summer squash, tvp, chipotle pepper powder, jalapenos, and cumin.  Towards the end I added salt to taste.

Honestly, it turned out good but not even close to outstanding.  The pumpkin pretty much fell apart so it didn’t add much in the way of texture and it’s flavor was very subtle.  And it needed three times as much jalapeno!  It was spicy at first but after sitting a few hours it was way too mellow.

Sorry but by the time we ate outside it was way too dark to get a decent picture with my point-and-shoot but Kath has some gorgeous pictures here, including some of the delicious whole wheat apple turnovers that Matt made for dessert.

Mission Get Moving went fantastic last week!  I was SO active and felt strong through it all.  It was fun to take so many classes at the gym but I will not be buying a membership once my free trial is over on Tuesday.  It’s too far away (I have to drive!) and I am not really a gym girl right now, I want to run outside while it’s nice and I have a great home gym with weights and bands.

(O.k, it’s an awful picture, like a craigslist “for sale” ad or something, but I promise you, that is all you need for an AWESOME at-home workout)

Mission Get Moving

Week 6 (September 20-27)

  • 4 runs (1 60 minutes, speed work)
  • 4 yoga sessions
  • Pilates class
  • 2 exercise dvd workouts (I miss my dvd’s, they were abandoned for Gold’s last week!)
  • Zumba!

Have a fabulous Monday!