basics from scratch

Pumpkin Purée

Pumpkin PureeFall is officially in full swing. Apples. Pumpkin patches. Corn mazes. Warm beverages. Cider and donuts. EVERYTHING pumpkin flavored. Literally everything. I’m a pumpkin fan so I really can’t complain. In fact, I’m going to celebrate the pumpkin craze by sharing this pumpkin purée “recipe” that is really just instructions on something ridiculously basic.

Pumpkin PureeFunny story. One time my husband and I were young and silly and decided to make pumpkin purée at his college apartment. We went to the store to find a nice pumpkin to roast and purée. We got back and cut it apart, like I do in this recipe. We roasted it for what seems like forever…much longer than the recipe we were looking at. We very slowly and with much effort scooped the flesh out of the skin and attempted to purée it. We eventually made it work only to realize later that you don’t just use any old pumpkin to make purée. You use pie pumpkins.

Pumpkin PureeTake this story as a lesson. Please, please, don’t use a regular pumpkin. You will be tired and sad and covered in pumpkin guts. It’s not a pretty sight. So when I actually tried this again with a pie pumpkin, I realized that there is a reason that the “pie” in “pie pumpkin” isn’t optional if you want to maintain your sanity. Or at least what’s left of your sanity. You don’t even have to scoop the flesh out because the skin actually peels off easily (see below)!

Pumpkin PureeOnce you try making your own pumpkin purée, you will realize the many cans of pumpkin purée you bought could have been made easily at home. Also, this freezes wonderfully to use after pumpkins are replaced with snow and Christmas trees so no excuses!!

Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin Purée
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1 pie pumpkin
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cut of the top of the pumpkin then cut in half. Scoop out the seeds and pulp (save the seeds to bake and snack on!). Cut pumpkin into large chunks. I cut mine into about 8 pieces total.
  3. Bake for 45 minutes on ungreased baking sheet.
  4. Peel off the skin and puree a few pieces at a time in a food processor. You can also use a blender if you add a splash of water.
Notes
  1. You can use this immediately or freeze for later. I split mine into about 1 cup portions and froze it. If it's too thick add a splash of water.
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Whipped Buttercream Frosting

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Whipped Buttercream FrostingIt’s almost my Dad’s birthday! Happy almost birthday Dad! It only makes sense that my family celebrated back in early September…Turns out it’s hard for all of us to get together the more of us there are and the further we move away. Nonetheless, we did get together and have an awesome pre-birthday birthday celebration!

process1No birthday would be complete without cake or cupcakes! This frosting was perfect with the chocolate cake I made. Yummm. The frosting on the chocolate cake was originally supposed to be cream cheese whipped cream frosting. I had made it before and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD! Apparently I forgot how to make it because I ended up with cream cheese whipped cream soup instead. Major fail. Maybe someday I will be brave enough to try and make that frosting again.

fin2Until that day comes, you can’t really go wrong with the classic buttercream recipe! It’s creamy and rich. Perfect for any cake or cupcake. This one is vanilla flavored but you can also add other extracts as well (lemon, almond, mint…just to name a few!) to make it your own! Just think of the endless combinations of frosting and cakes…Oh that makes me excited to try new combinations! Comment if you come up with a good cake/frosting combinations!

Whipped Buttercream Frosting
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Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup room temperature butter
  2. 3- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon vanilla
  4. pinch of salt
  5. 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
  1. Mix butter with whisk attachment in mixer until smooth and creamy.
  2. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Start the mixer on low then mix on high for 2-3 minutes. If the frosting is not thick enough, or not to your preference, add another 1/2 cup of sugar.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and mix on high for 1-2 more minutes.
Notes
  1. Do NOT skip the heavy whipping cream (you can use milk if you do not have cream but the cream makes it richer). You will be shocked how this last step really lightens the frosting and makes it fluffier and whiter.
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Carrot Top & Basil Pesto

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I’m not going to lie…this is a weird sounding one. I got some pretty strange looks from my family when I told them I was going to make carrot top pesto. Even my sister, who I have to admit makes some weird stuff of her own, looked at me like I was out of my mind. I questioned my sanity for a brief moment. My official conclusion was that I was sane…at least in regards to this pesto.

This pesto is just as, if not more, delicious than your run of the mill pesto. It’s got a bit of a bite to it that typical pesto doesn’t have. Plus, it’s also a great use of otherwise overlooked, yet perfectly good food!

My husband and I grew some gorgeous carrots in our garden that were scrumptious in my balsamic & orange roasted carrots. We had a RIDICULOUS amount of carrot tops from these carrots. We worked so hard to grow those pretty little carrots and, by golly, I was determined to use the carrot tops. This is great for those of you who grow carrots or that get carrots with the tops on at the farmer’s market or store. I would recommend organic because you never know what ends up on vegetables these days.

I wish I had taken a picture of our refrigerator full of carrot tops while I decided what to make with them. It was like a jungle in there! Every day my husband comes home looking for a pre-dinner snack. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even question the fact that when he opened the fridge he couldn’t see through the forest of carrot tops. Apparently it’s like a don’t ask, don’t tell situation with the weird food that pops up around our house waiting to made into something delicious. I suppose he just trusts that I have a plan with the random food he finds. And I usually do have a plan…usually.

Carrot Top & Basil Pesto
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Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 cups carrot top leaves, roughly chopped
  2. 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
  3. 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (see directions)
  4. 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  5. 1/2 cup olive oil
  6. 3 cloves garlic
  7. salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. To toast the pine nuts, place in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they start to lightly toast. You will know they are starting to toast when they start to become more fragrant. Stay close during this process because they can burn quickly!
  2. Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until mixture turns into a paste/puree.
Notes
  1. We made pesto grilled cheese sandwiches with these (recipe to come). We also used some of the pesto to top grilled chicken, which was also delicious!
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Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce

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I’ve already discussed my feelings on pizza. If you missed this, you can check out my pizza dough recipe to understand my obsession. Luckily, I found a husband who shares my pizza obsession. Apparently we were just meant to be. A match made in pizza heaven. Everybody say, “AWWWW.” Okay good. We can move on now.

When we were in college my husband and his brother were roommates and would easily eat at least one frozen pizza a week. I have to admit that for college, even making a frozen pizza was pretty good. I’m guessing a lot of students probably didn’t even know if the oven in their apartment actually worked. Why cook when there are 50 million cheap take-out places nearby? Seriously, they had a point. However, once out of college and married the deal became that we could eat pizza to our hearts’ content but I wanted to make it at home.

Our homemade pizzas started with homemade pizza dough and store bought everything else. That was a great start! Then I started making cheese so it was homemade pizza dough with homemade cheese and bought everything else. Now I apparently make pizza sauce so it’s homemade pizza dough, homemade cheese, and homemade pizza sauce with store bought pepperoni. Pepperoni is pepperoni and it’s a hard habit to kick. Seriously. I don’t see myself making it so I may have to actually buy it as is. Such is life.

Bottom line is, you don’t have to make EVERYTHING from scratch to have some good eats! We didn’t start by making the whole shebang from scratch but eventually it becomes easier. Also, once you make one piece of the pizza (like sauce or dough), you can freeze it for the next time and the process is a lot easier!

Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 10 Roma tomatoes
  2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  4. 4 cloves of garlic
  5. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  6. 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  7. 1/2 tablespoon sugar, optional depending on sweetness of tomatoes and preference
  8. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  9. pinch of salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Bring small pot of water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut an "X" shape on bottom of each tomato (see above image). This will help the skin remove easily. Once the water is boiling, place the tomatoes in the water for about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and place into bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard. The skin should basically fall off of the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half, remove extra seeds from the tomatoes and discard. Set the tomatoes aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and let saute 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 1 more minute. Add seeded tomatoes and break apart a bit with a spoon. Add the oregano, basil, sugar, crushed red pepper, and salt & pepper.
  3. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Transfer to blender to blend or blend with handheld blender in the skillet (this option can get messy) if you want a smoother texture.
Notes
  1. You can also make this with a can of diced or crushed tomatoes (I'm guessing about a 28 oz can) instead of the fresh tomatoes.
  2. I used about 1/3 of a cup of sauce on my pizza but I'm not a fan of a ton of sauce. With the leftovers, I split them into small freezer bags in about 1/3 cup portions. This way, I can put the sauce in the refrigerator the night before and it will be waiting for me to make pizza!
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Basic Granola

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School started this week! Woo hoo! Right? Maybe. We’ll see I guess. It’s a love/hate relationship. I love the kids and teachers/staff I work with. I love what I do as an occupational therapist. I hate the idea that summer is over and my once free days of doing whatever I want to do (or don’t want to do…i.e. cleaning) are now over. At least until next summer 🙂

So after a long first week of planning and scheduling, and planning and scheduling, and planning and scheduling, the weekend is finally here!! Which means I really just feel like crawling under a blanket and not doing anything. But, because that would be so unproductive I’ve decided to make more granola.

I say “more” granola because granola is a staple in our house. My husband literally eats it every morning with yogurt. When we’re out of granola it might as well be chaos. That’s actually not true. My husband is a very calm guy and would resourcefully find something else to eat. Like leftover pizza. Or meat. It’s been known to happen. But, because I don’t always find leftover pizza and meat the most appetizing in the morning, I will gladly make him granola to eat instead.

This is super simple, delicious, crunchy granola. The key is to let it sit and cool completely before you break it apart. I’ve done the “I’m in a hurry. I can’t wait for this granola to cool” thing before. It is still delicious if you don’t wait. However, it all separates into individual oats. If that’s what you’re going for more power to you. Go for it! Mix it up immediately after baking. I’m a bunches of granola kind of girl so letting it cool is for sure the way to go for me.

 

Basic Granola
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup brown sugar
  2. 1/3 cup honey
  3. 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  4. 3 cups oats (old-fashioned rolled oats)
  5. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  6. 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Combine brown sugar, honey, and vegetable oil in a small skillet. Heat on medium, stirring often, until the sugar is completely dissolved but the mixture is not yet bubbling. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Place the oats in a mixing bowl. Pour the brown sugar and honey mixture over top of the oats and add the cinnamon and salt. Mix until all the oats are lightly coated with the brown sugar and honey mixture and everything is combined.
  4. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread granola mixture over the sheet evenly.
  5. Bake granola for 1 hour, mixing every 15-20 minutes.
  6. Let granola cool completely before breaking into pieces.
  7. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
  1. I sometimes add raisins to my granola once it is cooled. You can really add any of your favorite dried fruits after the granola is baked and cooled! If you want to add nuts and/or seeds, I would replace some of the oats with whatever you want to add and bake it as normal.
Adapted from Like Mother, Like Daughter
Adapted from Like Mother, Like Daughter
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
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