Easy as Pie Test Kitchen

Tats for tots

Want to let people know about your food allergies? Neat business cards aren't enough for you? Check out these food allergy tattoos.

Extreme leftovers

I sometimes write about meals I've made with week-old vegetables. It's time for me to come clean. Sometimes they're even older than that. I have a personal rule that I think of as the "Little House on the Prairie Rule." If I can remember (or imagine) Laura Ingalls Wilder or her sister Mary fetching a piece of food from the root cellar in the winter, I figure it's probably okay to let it age awhile before I cook it.

Earlier this week, it was time to break out the butternut squash I bought in early September. (I won't say how early in September. I have to preserve SOME dignity, folks!) I bought it to make soup, but I made a lot of soup in September. In October, I've just been tired, and I've been nuking spaghetti squash and eating Jack-in-the-Box salad instead. (More on nuking spaghetti squash later. It's great.) I was finally feeling better, and up to the challenge of cutting up squash. Maybe aging helps, because it actually wasn't all that hard to cut. Here's the squash before I prepared it. It has a little character from being on my counter for, um, awhile:

I cut it open, and it seemed a little dry but mostly okay.

To roast:

I cut it in 1" cubes, put them on foil on a baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray, and roasted at 450 for 25 minutes.

Then I whisked up a quick mustard sauce:

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

And drizzled it over the top. I love mustard with anything sweet.

It was not dry or tough or rotten tasting. In fact, it was very good. So eat old squash without (too much) fear, faithful readers!

Allergy-free trick or treat

Need some non-food ideas for trick-or-treaters? I've loved Oriental Trading Company since I was 8 or so. Cheesy toys for cheap--you can't beat it. So most of these items come from them. They say you can by October 26 and get them in time for Halloween with ground shipping. (And no, they're not paying me for this. Amazon, on the other hand, gives me a very small cut if you buy stuff from them through a link on my site.)

Glowsticks (of course)

flashlights

pirate eyepatches

bubbles

animals with bulgy eyes. My personal favorites are these goofy-looking sharks

Animals with bulgy other things. My friend Sarah gave these egg-laying rubber chickens out at a wedding-related event (I'm not kidding! Sarah is awesome.) My burly Alaskan husband and I played with ours so much they broke within a day. A little expensive for trick-or-treaters, maybe, but still awesome.

Easy weekend breakfast

Sometimes it's hard to make a quick, hearty breakfast without eggs. Pre-made polenta (which you can buy in a tube in a lot of grocery stores) is healthy and filling. Just be careful if you have a dairy allergy--sometimes it has cheese in it. I slice it, fry it in a pan, drizzle it with salsa, and heat some refried beans to eat on the side.

Polenta is also good with maple syrup (without the refried beans, of course)

"Whoopy once, whoopy twice, whoopy chicken soup with rice"

In honor of the new "Where the Wild Things Are" movie (that I haven't seen yet), here's a recipe inspired by one of Maurice Sendak's lesser known books, "Chicken Soup with Rice". The book is a poem about eating chicken soup every month of the year. October ends with, "Whoopy once. Whoopy twice. Whoopy chicken soup with rice."

Besides having Sendak on the brain, I wanted to make something for my burly Alaskan husband who was sick with the flu. What better remedy than chicken soup? I like my soup thick, so you are welcome to add more water or broth if you prefer yours to actually be soupy. I used red wine, which gave it a nice fall kick and also a neat purplish color.

 
Chicken soup with rice ($7.24)

1 1/2 cups rice (I used a wild rice mix from Trader Joe's, but I don't remember how much it cost. $.75 for everyday grocery store rice)
2 large carrots, sliced ($.50)
2 stalks celery, sliced ($.50)
1 14.5-ounce can tomatoes ($1.49)
4 cups broth ($2)
2 cups red wine ($1 from Trader Joe's)
2 cups pieces of chicken ($1)
3 tablespoons dried parsley
salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and heat on high 4-6 hours. Or, if the chicken is already cooked, just nuke it until it's hot. Whoopy twice and enjoy. 4-6 servings.

Sugar is out to get me

You may have noticed I haven't been posting as much lately. Truth is, I occasionally have a relapse of old symptoms--I've just been dog tired. And frustrated. This was the second time since I cut wheat, dairy, eggs and sugar out of my diet that I've been back to the point of constantly battling fatigue-- nodding off at stoplights, at my desk at work, falling asleep on the couch at 8, migrating to the bed at 12, waking up at 6 feeling like I didn't sleep at all. When I tell people without this problem about it, they sometimes say, "Oh yeah, I totally know what you mean. Last night I only got like 3 hours of sleep" or something like that. Sorry, but you don't know. I know what normal bone-tired feels like. I've only passed out once in my life, but this is a lot more like that than just being tired. And if you're just tired, usually you feel better after getting sleep. Not so with this problem.

Anyway, I was frantically watching my diet trying to figure out what on earth I was doing wrong. If you're reading this blog, you've probably gone through this. What did I eat when? If I ate X right before I started getting tired Tuesday afternoon, was the same thing in my food Thursday morning before I dozed off? Yesterday, it was getting to the point where I was seriously worried about driving home from work. I went to throw out my gum and get a new piece, and it hit me. I literally sat, dumbfounded, staring at the label on a pack of gum for about 2 minutes. Xylitol--it's even on the front of the package. It's supposed to be great for your teeth. It's also a sugar alcohol. My last sleepy spell was the result of its cousin, maltitol. Two ounces of maltitol-laced chocolate knocked me out for 3 hours once. That stuff is pure evil. It's about as effective a sedative for me as a sledge hammer to the head, but fortunately less painful. I should have known.

Today, I haven't had any gum and I feel great. I guess the trick-or-treaters will get the rest of my Costco-sized box of Trident.

Real-life Munchler

Veronica, who won the puppy lunchbox in one of the contests last month, has a puppy who looks just like her new lunchbox!

Usagi, the puppy:

The Munchler puppy. Even their ears are the same!

Yam Shepherd's Pie

I was going to use these yams to make soup, but I've been making a lot of soup lately and I'm a little tired of it. This is easier and sticks to your ribs a little more. :)

Yam Shepherd's Pie--$7.13

2 lbs. yams, cooked and mashed ($2.40) or 1 can ($3.55)

1 lb. ground beef ($2.99)

1 onion ($.74)

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables ($1)

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Once it's browned, remove to a small casserole dish, leaving some of the grease in the pan. Add the onions and vegetables to the skillet and heat, stirring periodically, until the vegetables are heated through and the onions start to brown. Add to the casserole and mix with the meat. Spoon the potatoes evenly over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the pie under a broiler until it is a little crisp and browned on the top.

Rouladen, part 2

A few weeks ago, I posted a recipe for my friend Melany to cook--a version of Rouladen using the ingredients she had on hand. She made a couple changes for the sake of time, and got what you see below. Yummy!

 


 

I'm not obsessed with pumpkin, really...

...okay, maybe just a little. I used to love pumpkin flavored chai lattes and pumpkin beer around this time of year. Just because those days are over, though, does not mean I can't enjoy pumpkin-flavored goodness. This risotto is actually healthier than the kind with cheese, and it has a great fall kick! And, incidentally, it is easy and inexpensive (even with the organic pumpkin!) I made it for about $7.61, not counting pantry items. I'm sure someone who is better at clipping coupons and looking for sales than I am could probably even make this for a lot less than that.

Pumpkin Risotto

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped ($.75)
2 cups rice ($1.50)
1 cup wine (I use $2 wine from Trader Joe's, so about $.50)
1 can (15-ounce)  pumpkin purée ($2.36)
5 cups stock/broth ($2.50)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
6 pistachios, (optional)
3 cloves, (optional)

Heat the oil in a wide, large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Saute onions for 2 minutes. Add rice. Cook and stir for about a minute. Add wine. Cook and stir until wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups stock. Cover and allow to simmer until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more. Pumpkin with final 1/2 cup of stock. Stir and cook until liquid is absorbed. Add nutmeg.

Grind the pistachios and cloves in a food processor. Stir into risotto. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.