Guest Post - Jacqui From Sweet Smart Funny...

Hello again...and a good mornin' to ya!  Today we've got Jacqui at the helm and I'm so glad she's here.  Jacqui has a blog that I've long admired and I think you'll join the ranks, if you haven't already, once you find out more.  She has great garden ideas, a desire for sustainability and some lovely food ideas that will make you stand up and take notice!  And she's been kind enough to share a mouth-watering recipe with us...one that involves that most important of October gourds - PUMPKIN!

Hi Grits & Moxie readers! I'm Jacqui, and I blog at Sweet Smart Funny. Jennifer has so kindly handed over the reins today, so I'll do my best to entertain you with a tasty treat that I think you'll love!

Today I'm sharing my favourite recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Bread. A small disclaimer: I live in Australia, where it's spring, not fall (or autumn as we call it) and I'm not fully across the whole Halloween thing... but I know there are pumpkins involved! Anyway, on to the important stuff.

You need:

2 cups of small roasted pumpkin pieces

2 cups of self raising flour, sifted

fresh or dried oregano, as much or as little as you like

roughly 50g butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten (note - you can probably get away with one, I did this time!)

fresh rosemary sprigs, to go on top

butter to serve

How to make:

First up, you want to have your roasted pumpkin. I use fresh pumpkin, cut up into small pieces, coat them in some olive oil, and roast them in the oven at about 180 degrees (celsius) for 20 minutes. You can do this step ahead of actually making the bread.

For the bread itself, preheat the oven to about 180 degrees (celsius). Grease and line a loaf pan (9cm by 19cm, or whatever you have) and set aside.

Pop your pumpkin in a large bowl, and mash it up with a potato masher. It doesn't have to be perfectly mashed - a few chunks of roast pumpkin in the bread is delicious! Next add your flour, oregano, butter, milk and eggs and give it all a good mix, making sure to get any floury lumps out. The batter should be quite thick.

Spoon the batter into the loaf tin, and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Add sprigs of rosemary on top, make it look pretty, and pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes. Use a skewer to test if it's cooked (note that if you skewer a piece of pumpkin, you'll get some pumpkin on the skewer - but the bread is probably still cooked). Let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on a cooling rack.

Now for the most important part - eat it! I like to eat mine while it's still warm, I'm not very patient at waiting for stuff like this to cool completely. I recommend serving warm with lashings of butter (not margarine). If you're eating it once it's cooled already, pop it under the grill to reheat it, and you'll get lots of yummy crispy edges.

For something different, I think it would work beautifully with feta cheese added at the mixing stage - and it would look great too. Can someone please try this and let me know how it goes?

I hope you've enjoyed learning how I make a savoury pumpkin bread, and I hope you're feeling inspired to make something yummy in your kitchen. Huge thanks again to Jennifer, it's been fun stopping by!

Um, yes, yes and yes.  Goodness, I've got to try this STAT!  And I love the phrase 'with lashings of butter' because I. Freaking. Love. Butter.

If you'd like to find out more about Jacqui then visit her blog, Twitter and Instagram.  And you can find all the guest posts from the-almost-over-where-the-hell-did-the-month-go MOXTOBERFEST here.  Thanks!

Fall Soup-tacular...

When Brady and I started living together in Valdosta we'd always throw a big 'bonfire bash' and invite lots of our friends over...even when the south Georgia weather wasn't quite cool enough for such things.  Eh, we're rebels!  One of the things that I'd always cook up was a big batch of spicy pumpkin soup because it's a) easy b) enough to feed lots of folks and c) delicious.  So, even though we aren't having a shindig this year in Athens (we still don't know too many people up here...but that will hopefully change soon) I decided to whip up some soup for the two of us.  Pair it with some fresh bread and a good beer (Red Hoptober is our new favorite), and you've got a hearty dinner on your hands...

You'll need:

• 6 cups of roasted pumpkin
• 5 cups of veggie stock
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 T chopped roasted garlic
• 2 t curry powder
• 2 small pinches powder cayenne pepper (be sure to wash your hands after handling!!!)
• 1/4 t smoked paprika (optional)
• 2 large pinches of fresh ground pepper

Heat up the stock on mid-low then add all ingredients except coconut milk.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Puree in smallish batches in either a food processor or blender.  Return to pot and heat again on low.  Slowly add coconut milk.  Taste and adjust spices accordingly.  If there is too much heat from the cayenne pepper then add a dollop of plain yogurt or heavy cream to even it out.  Either serve hot or store for reheating.  Remember that soup is always better the next day since it does allow the flavors/spice to become more prominent...but you may have to adjust spices during final reheating.  Oh, and you can double the ingredients if you're serving a large number of folks (6-10). 

I'm planning on having a big bowl of this tonight after I finished getting organized for the day.  Maybe finally watch a documentary I've been obsessing over lately?  Yes, that sounds amazing!

Happy Friday everyone!

PS - Today at the restaurant I waited on a guy who looked exactly like Andrew Bird.  Guess who's in town and playing in Athens tonight?  Yep!  I met Andrew Bird and didn't even know it at the time.  Ha!

Food Fun - Roasted Tomato And Garlic Dip

You may remember that when my best friend Adam (who is adjusting beautifully to his new town and University...yay!) was here visiting a few weeks ago, I made a delicious roasted tomato and garlic dip/spread for our fresh cut veggies...and it was pretty darn a) easy and b) delicious!  You have the sweet acidity of the tomato, the earthy pungency of the garlic, the cool and tart of the Greek yogurt, and a hit of spice from lots of cracked pepper.  This stuff is not for those of you who don't like a strong flavored food experience.  And hey, if you dont?  That's cool.  Do your thing!  There are some other recipes here that you might like..

For this recipe you'll need:
- 5 large tomatos
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 T olive olive
- splash balsamic vinegar
- ground pepper

Heat oven to 350.

Slice tomatoes into thin discs.  Add olive oil and pepper.  Toss well.  Place in shallow dish.

Cook tomatoes for 35 minutes.  Add whole peeled cloves and gently stir.

Increase oven temperature to 475.  Cook tomatoes and garlic for 10-15 minutes or until crisped but not burned.

Once cooled, add the tomatoes and garlic to a food processor and pulse.  Add yogurt and balsamic, and pulse until smooth'ish'.

Place in clean container with airtight lid and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Serve with fresh veggies - zucchini, squash, carrots, celery...yum.  Spread onto bread and top with avocado and arugula.  Dollop onto hummus and crackers.  Mix with oil and vinegar and Zing Zang for a Bloody Mary Marinated Veggie And Pasta Salad.  That's a Jennifer Keene creation and I'd be glad to share the recipe!  Oh, the possibilities are endless! 

I will say that all food is more delicious when shared with good company.  So grab some friends or family and enjoy!

PS - I've been making some slight adjustments to the blog...especially the photos.  Things have been a bit uneven but I'm working out some HTML kinks.  Thanks!

Recipe - And Now For Something A Bit Different...

When Adam was here earlier in the week I made a big bowl of chopped Caprese Salad in order to help satisfy his low/no carbohydrate cravings.  And when I say I made a big bowl I mean that I made a big bowl.  6 tomatoes.  2 gigantic mozzarella balls.  An entire bunch of fresh basil.  A generous dollop of Georgia Olive Oil.  A hearty splash of balsamic vinegar.  Chop.  Toss.  Chill.  Eat.  And eat.  And eat.  And then store the obscene amount of leftovers.  [end scene]

So, when the next morning rolled around and I was reaching for the usual fare of eggs (to be made sunny side up) and soysauge, I decided to pull out the Caprese Salad instead.  My thoughts?  A fresh and easy frittata that cooks in one dish.  Yay for one dish meals!

You'll need:
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups chopped Caprese Salad
- 1 T olive/grapeseed oil
- fresh ground pepper
- sea salt
- 1 t of cold water

Heat oven to 350.

Spray or coat an oven safe shallow dish (pie pan, etc) with olive/grapeseed oil.

Whisk eggs with cold water.  Add several generous pinches of pepper and a small bit of salt.   *Note: you can do this 2 ways.  You can whisk in the pan or you can whisk in bowl and pour in pan.  If you do the latter then I recommend you heat the pan up first so there will be a nice crust on the frittata after you pour the product in

Sprinkle caprese salad goodies evenly around in the egg mix in pan.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes depending on depth of pan.  Check regularly.  You want the eggs soft but not too runny.  Oh, and it will firm up a bit after removing from oven so be aware of that.

Let cool.  Slice.  Garnish with plain yogurt.  Eat.

The great thing about this is that it is very good cold too.  I wouldn't recommend reheating if you cooked the eggs firm originally...it might be too dry.

Brady put the finished frittata on a bit of french bread and nommed away.  I had a bit of an 'everything' bagel on the side to go with mine.  Adam had his plain.  Every single way was delicious!

Enjoy!  Oh, and please share your own results if you give it a whirl.  I promise you'll be pleased!  And feel free to share a favorite recipe or suggestions in the comments.  I love to try new things in the kitchen...

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Guest Blogger At Life, Chaos and Quotes...

Today I'm guest blogging at Life, Chaos and Quotes, and I'm sharing Nana Farmer's easy freezer jam recipe...with strawberries and rosemary!  Yummy.  Stop by Mandee's blog to find out how to make your own simple batch of delicious jam.  And say hi, won't you?

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My Life In Pictures...

In the last week or so I've had some amazingly simple yet super fun experiences.  It's the little things that count!

I made crafty things for the house and rejoiced in my new camera.

 

I sat on my porch and enjoyed the rain...and watched beautiful sunsets over my neighbor's tin roof.

I ate some of the best authentic Mexican food I've had since leaving San Diego twelve years ago.  So yummy!  I also learned the basics of bartering...and just traded an old skateboard for a new space heater.  Score!

I spent quality time with disgruntled kitties and new planners.

I drank amazingly crisp beer brewed with ginger and listened to Hawaiin music on the GA Theater rooftop.

I cleaned out our clay stained shed and wrote a guest post involving yet another Nana Farmer recipe.  Productivity, and caffeine, were coursing through my veins.   Oh, and the guest post will be up next week...I'll share it then.

 

It seems like only yesterday that I made homemade miso soup and listened to records (Andrew Bird, Tom Waits and Bill Withers) by candlelight.  Wait, it was yesterday.  Ha!  By the way, I'm thinking of adding how to whistle like Andrew to my 100 Before 40.

The next four days are going to full of fun, friends and family.  Today?  The Georgia Guidestones and a trip to one of the oldest cities in the state.  Tomorrow?  Brady's B's birthday.  Say that three times fast!  B is Brady's Grandmother in Marietta, GA.  Monday and Tuesday?  A visit from friends and lots of exploring and wine and laughs and porch time.  I cannot wait to get things underway!

What about you?  What are your weekend plans?  Share!

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Guest Post - Alyssa From Elemental Carbon

Welp, today is the last day of our vacation, and I'm very happy to report that we are having a very, very good time...but we do miss our doggies!

Lucky for us, we have Alyssa from the fun blog Elemental Carbon to present the last, but certainly not least, guest post of the week!

Hello!  My name is Alyssa and I'm from the DIY & crafting blog Elemental Carbon.  I am thrilled to be guest posting here at Grits & Moxie!

A little about me: I'm a Chemistry major at The Ohio State University and I want to be a high school chemistry teacher.  On the side, I love anything and everything creative and crafty.  You learn even more random things about me here.

I'm way better at crafting and chemistry than I am with writing or being funny, so let's get down to business.

Today I'll be teaching you how to make a garland out of an old book!  This whole project cost me 50 cents.  

 

 It is super easy!

Here's what you need:

-an old damaged book (I got mine at a yard sale for 50 cents!)

-circle punch (...or lots of patience.  I only have one of the two.  Can you guess which?)

-sewing machine (or even more patience)

 

Here's what you do:

 1. Cut out a bunch of circles!  You can go random and just cut away wherever the circle punch lands on the page, or you can search for cool-looking pictures.  I started off looking for cool pictures, but then went to punching out wherever on the page because I ran out of patience (darn!  I gave away the answer to my question above).

2. Start sewing circles together with your sewing machine.  Stitch through the circle then keep pressing the foot for a little bit of open space between the circles, and then add another circle.

I went completely random with space between circles. Some a little space, some a lot, and some circles I sewed on top of one another in order to give the garland a little interest.

3. When you have the desired length, tie knots at the ends, although I doubt it will ever come unraveled from the paper.

Thank you so much for letting me join you today!

I'd love to have you drop by Elemental Carbon and check it out!

-Alyssa

Thank you again Alyssa.  I'm going to give this a whirl when I get home and I'll share the results with you.  Fun stuff!  I really appreciate you stepping in and taking over for me.  I'm so happy to have you, and all the other guest bloggers, as a part of my support group.  We're all here to help each other out!

I encourage everyone to visit Alyssa's blog and see all of the excellent DIY tutorials she's created!

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PS I'm sorry for the format change yet again but I'm working on some changes still.  Just bear with me.

Adventures With Homemade Pasta...

Earlier in the week I was able to cross off one of my 100 Before 40 items - learning how to make fresh homemade pasta.  It was both simple and time consuming, with the rolling and cutting the most tedious parts of the recipe...but it was also a joy to watch one of my favorite things - pasta! - unfold from my fingertips.

Nana's Homemade Pasta Recipe

For this recipe you'll need 3 main ingredients (listed below), a food processor, plenty of counter space, a rolling pin, a piece of wax paper, and a rack that you can dry the pasta on.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T salt
3 eggs
2 C flour

Crack 3 eggs into food processor and then top with flour and salt.  Pulse until the product becomes a large crumble.

Turn crumbled mixture onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  Place dough ball in a sheet of wax paper, wrap and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Chilling gives the dough a chance to rest, and it will help make the rolling and cutting a bit easier to manage.

Remove dough from fridge, roll out a bit and the cut product in 1/2 or 1/4.  This helps to cut down on the amount of dough you're working on at one time...and in a small kitchen like mine, it is a must.

Roll dough out til thin.  Really put your back to it and use long, fluid rolls with the pin.

Trim off rough edges and then cut pieces to your preference but try to stay consistent with size if you're cooking all in one style. I chose a bit wider and longer pasta, but you can cut it thinner or even wider...the latter is great for lasagne!

Drape individually over rack.  Allow to dry.  This took about 4 hours for me but the humidity is fairly low in Athens right now.

Eat immediately or freeze in an air tight container.  We ate most of ours immediately.  Duh.

This pasta is very rich and heavy so you don't have to use as much as you normally would.  It really swells during boiling too, so make sure you keep that in mind or you'll have boocoodles of leftovers.  I cooked a small handful for about 10-12 minutes and it was perfect!  Top it with a bit of red sauce or just olive oil, roasted garlic and fresh parmesan.

You could also add chopped/ground herbs to the mix at the beginning.  I added some fresh ground pepper to mine...and next batch will have fresh rosemary.

All credit for this recipe goes to my Nana Farmer.  Love and miss you Nana!

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Homemade Blue Potato Chips...

The other night my friend Melissa made a huge batch of low country boil and then brought me the leftover goodies the next morning.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love low country boil?  I love it a lot lot lotlotlot.  I can't, however, eat 10 pounds of it in a day...so I decided to make homemade potato chips with some of the leftovers.

Blue Potato Chips

The recipe is fairly straightforward...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook the potatoes prior by boiling.  Allow to cool and then slice into 1/4 inch rounds.  Place rounds on slightly greased sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook rounds for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Keep checking on them because they cook up quick at the end and they are a bit darker in color than regular pale potatoes. Remove from pan and allow to cool.  Eat immediately or store in airtight container.

I went even further and took some of the plain cooked chips and topped them with a bit of rosemary and bleu cheese crumbles.  Just put under broil for a few minutes and they'll be perfectly yummy.

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