Ride Like the Wind

I decided to take advantage of the warm fall weather and bike to the local orchard to pick up some apples.

The thing about biking in October is that it can be kind of windy.

I was struggling.

I felt like Ms. Gulch in the Wizard of Oz riding past Dorothy’s bedroom window while it is whirling around in a tornado.

My quads were burning so bad I thought they might disintegrate and I was seriously considering cutting the ride short and heading home.

I glanced behind me to see a fellow biker getting ready to pass.

He bid me good morning as he effortlessly sailed on by.

With a donut.

And coffee.

(source)

Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

Gale force winds couldn’t keep me from fresh produce now.

Or the 3 MPH winds I was actually facing.

How ’bout them apples?

I was hungry when I got home.

Which is completely irrelevant because I’m always hungry.

Baked Sweet potatoes stuffed with apples, cranberries, and spinach is a warming way to enjoy both the sweet and tart flavors of fall.

Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1 apple (any variety)

1 tablespoon apple cider or water

1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup

2 cups baby spinach

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)

salt + pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender.

During the last 10 minutes of cooking, prepare your filling.

Soak cranberries in hot water for 5 minutes to soften.

If you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can use 1/4 cup dried.

Dice apple.

Add to a large pan with apple cider.

Cook over medium heat for about a minute.

Add cranberries and continue cooking until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add mustard, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup.

Stir gently.

Add spinach and cook just until it begins to wilt.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add 1/2 of the apple filling to each sweet potato.

Top with pumpkin seeds.

The 12 Challenges of 2012

Has anyone thought about taking the week long vegetarian challenge?

Maybe you’re thinking it would be too difficult.

Maybe you’re thinking meal planning would be too hard.

Maybe you’re thinking too much.

Here’s some quick and easy meal ideas for you.

BREAKFAST

Cereal + Milk + Fruit

Toast + Peanut Butter + Banana

Oatmeal+Soy milk + Pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pancakes + Cooked Apples + Maple Syrup

Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Almond Biscotti

LUNCH

Peanut Butter + Apple Butter + Whole Wheat Bread

Hummus + Veggies + Pita Chips

Lentil Soup

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Thai Broccoli Slaw

Spinach + Pears + Walnuts + Maple Cider Vinaigrette

DINNER

Vegetarian Chili + Cornbread

Black Bean Burgers + Sweet Potato Fries

Tomato Soup + Grilled Cheese

Black Bean Tostadas

Stuffed Portobellos

Zucchini Tacos

Veggie Pizza

SNACKS

Brownie Batter Dip

Apple Butter Bread

Peanut Butter and Jelly Energy Bites

Warm Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips

You can even eat donuts and drink coffee all week if you want.

Bonus points if you can do it on a bicycle.

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch

I was enjoying a nice drive to my friend’s house last night and admiring all the fall colors when I saw it.

A Christmas tree.

A lit, decorated Christmas tree.

I think we need to step back and re-examine acceptable holiday practices.

1. Store displays: While it is acceptable to shop for Christmas gifts year-round, it is unacceptable for stores to display Christmas- specific items before Halloween.

2. Christmas decorations: Not acceptable until the day after Thanksgiving.

3. Christmas music: Not acceptable until the day after Thanksgiving, preferably not until December 1st.

4. Peppermint and candy canes: Not acceptable until December 1st.

5. Giant blow up lawn ornaments: Never acceptable. Stop. Stop now.

6. Multiple giant blow up lawn ornaments: An arrestable offense.

7. Holidays vs. Christmas: Its ok to say “holidays” when referring to multiple days. Christmas is Christmas. Period.

8. Food: Practicing seasonal recipes is acceptable. Serving Turducken for a Tuesday lunch is not.

I’m not a Grinch.

I just think that you suck all the joy out of the season when you celebrate for months on end.

Christmas is  magical because it only comes for a short time each year.

At least it used to.

I think its nice that you want to feel all those warm, Christmas fuzzies, but you’ll be immune to them by December if you start celebrating the day after Halloween.

It is however, a great time to start dusting off your Thanksgiving recipes and planning your Turkey Day feast.

I have a super delicious, extra moist cornbread recipe that I have used for the past three years.

It’s delicious because it has 1/2 cup butter, a whole cup of full-fat sour cream, eggs, cream-style and canned corn.

There must be a way to make a lighter version of this while still preserving all of the flavor.

I omitted the butter and eggs and subbed plain-low fat yogurt for the sour cream.

I tried this recipe two ways. One with a half cup of natural applesauce and one without. The one without applesauce had a great texture right out of the oven while the one with applesauce was a little too dense. The applesauce version, however, had a fantastic texture the next day. If you want to make this cornbread a day in advance, go ahead and add 1/2 cup applesauce with the yogurt mixture to keep it from drying out.

Guess what?

It has all the moisture and flavor of the original recipe.

Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

14 teaspoon salt

1 can (14,75 oz.) cream-style corn

1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Tidbit: The cider vinegar replaces the eggs and works with the baking soda and yogurt to help the bread rise.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine cream-style corn, yogurt, honey, oil, and vinegar. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour immediately into cast-iron skillet or into an 8 x8 inch baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is browned and tooth-pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

The whole grains and other healthy ingredients in this cornbread make it totally acceptable  as a breakfast food.

Serve with Maple Cranberry Jam

Maple Cranberry Jam

1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2-1 cup pure maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like your jam)

Tidbit: Make sure you are using real maple syrup! Pancake syrup like Aunt Jemima is usually made from corn syrup. If cost is a consideration, go ahead and use honey or your favorite sweetener.

Add cranberries and orange juice to small saucepan and cook over low to medium heat with the lid on until cranberries start to break down.  Add maple syrup and stir until consistency of jam. Jam will continue to thicken when cooled.

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch

I was enjoying a nice drive to my friend’s house last night and admiring all the fall colors when I saw it.

A Christmas tree.

A lit, decorated Christmas tree.

I think we need to step back and re-examine acceptable holiday practices.

1. Store displays: While it is acceptable to shop for Christmas gifts year-round, it is unacceptable for stores to display Christmas- specific items before Halloween.

2. Christmas decorations: Not acceptable until the day after Thanksgiving.

3. Christmas music: Not acceptable until the day after Thanksgiving, preferably not until December 1st.

4. Peppermint and candy canes: Not acceptable until December 1st.

5. Giant blow up lawn ornaments: Never acceptable. Stop. Stop now.

6. Multiple giant blow up lawn ornaments: An arrestable offense.

7. Holidays vs. Christmas: Its ok to say “holidays” when referring to multiple days. Christmas is Christmas. Period.

8. Food: Practicing seasonal recipes is acceptable. Serving Turducken for a Tuesday lunch is not.

I’m not a Grinch.

I just think that you suck all the joy out of the season when you celebrate for months on end.

Christmas is  magical because it only comes for a short time each year.

At least it used to.

I think its nice that you want to feel all those warm, Christmas fuzzies, but you’ll be immune to them by December if you start celebrating the day after Halloween.

It is however, a great time to start dusting off your Thanksgiving recipes and planning your Turkey Day feast.

I have a super delicious, extra moist cornbread recipe that I have used for the past three years.

It’s delicious because it has 1/2 cup butter, a whole cup of full-fat sour cream, eggs, cream-style and canned corn.

There must be a way to make a lighter version of this while still preserving all of the flavor.

I omitted the butter and eggs and subbed plain-low fat yogurt for the sour cream.

I tried this recipe two ways. One with a half cup of natural applesauce and one without. The one without applesauce had a great texture right out of the oven while the one with applesauce was a little too dense. The applesauce version, however, had a fantastic texture the next day. If you want to make this cornbread a day in advance, go ahead and add 1/2 cup applesauce with the yogurt mixture to keep it from drying out.

Guess what?

It has all the moisture and flavor of the original recipe.

Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

14 teaspoon salt

1 can (14,75 oz.) cream-style corn

1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Tidbit: The cider vinegar replaces the eggs and works with the baking soda and yogurt to help the bread rise.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine cream-style corn, yogurt, honey, oil, and vinegar. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour immediately into cast-iron skillet or into an 8 x8 inch baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is browned and tooth-pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

The whole grains and other healthy ingredients in this cornbread make it totally acceptable  as a breakfast food.

Serve with Maple Cranberry Jam

Maple Cranberry Jam

1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2-1 cup pure maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like your jam)

Tidbit: Make sure you are using real maple syrup! Pancake syrup like Aunt Jemima is usually made from corn syrup. If cost is a consideration, go ahead and use honey or your favorite sweetener.

Add cranberries and orange juice to small saucepan and cook over low to medium heat with the lid on until cranberries start to break down.  Add maple syrup and stir until consistency of jam. Jam will continue to thicken when cooled.