Halloween Sluts

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I hate, HATE those slutty Halloween costumes you can buy at the party store. You know, the sexy Alice in Wonderland, sexy kitten or sexy fireman? Fireman are supposed to be respected, not turned into skimpy sexy outfits for girls to parade around in on Halloween. I've never seen a fireman walking around in knee-high socks and heels with a little red skirt and fireman hat on. At least not in Oklahoma.

These Halloween brownies are slutty, but not in a slutty costume kind of way. I'm on a slutty brownie kick and pretty much think they are going to be my go-to dessert from now on. Don't be surprised if Christmas, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day slutty brownies pop up in the future. Thank goodness Oreo likes to celebrate as much as me and provides themed cookies to go with each holiday.

Third times the charm because this batch turned out perfect! Tips I learned: make sure you use a 9x9 pan, an 8x8 won't cut it. Double layer your foil, for easier removal from the pan, and 35 minutes is the baking time that has worked best for me to get fully cooked slutty brownies.

Halloween Slutty Brownies
yields 16-20 brownies
Recipe stays the same as the original just sub holiday themed Oreos for the regular ones and add holiday sprinkles!

Annie

#TBHT

In honor of throwback Thursday, a Halloween throwback seemed appropriate. Happy #TBHT!

I was always the cutest, sorry sistas.

I mean, c'mon? I even had little chopsticks in my hair.

 

My little neighborhood clan and trick-or-treating sidekicks. This costume is still talked about because my dad, yes my dad, sewed my cowardly lion costume. He's a man of many talents I tell you.

I always had an affinity for inanimate object costumes...here a cup of hot chocolate, below a present, not pictured the year I was a flower in a flower pot.

Ahh the glorious middle school days. We will stop here. Happy Halloween all!

 

Annie

Pumpkin Curry

I warned you about all the pumpkin posts that were going to happen this week. Pumpkin soup yesterday, pumpkin curry today, and more pumpkin tomorrow. Halloween is three days away for goodness sake! Y'all know me and holidays, they must be celebrated to the fullest.

This curry is amazing.  Like really really amazing. Kathleen back me up here (she had the luxury of joining me for dinner).  I'm a huge curry advocate. Throw the word pumpkin into the recipe and I'm sold. What I love about this recipe is how thick the pumpkin makes it. My past experience with making curry has always left me with a really soupy consistency. I can never get it as thick and creamy as the restaurants, until now. 

One of my friends from work showed me this recipe. We are both equally pumpkin obsessed and love coming in to work to show each other what we made for dinner the night before. I added chicken to mine but you could easily swap out for veggies or tofu. Serve over basmati rice and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and lots of cilantro. I recently purchased a rice cooker and it is kind of the best thing ever. I'm looking for any excuse to use it. For $20 you can get perfect sticky rice, fluffy quinoa and you can even use it like a slow cooker.

Pumpkin Curry adapted from
A Beautiful Mess
serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken, tofu or veggies (broccoli, red or green bell pepper, baby corn, pumpkin etc.)
1 cup basmati rice
cilantro and pumpkin seeds (pepitas) to serve

Directions:
Cook the rice according to the packaged instructions. Easy rule of thumb is one cup rice to one cup water. 
Mince the garlic, finely chop the onion and thinly slice the leek. Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic, onion and leek until soft and fragrant. About 3-4 minutes. Add the coconut milk, pumpkin puree and all the spices except the salt and pepper. Whisk together and cook over medium heat until everything is warmed through and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more of any of the spices if you wish. It's up to your taste buds. Once you get the flavor you like, stir in the shredded chicken. Serve the curry with rice and topped with pepitas and chopped cilantro. 

Annie

The Best D@#% Pumpkin Soup

I didn't name it, but I'm not disagreeing. This pumpkin soup isn't your typical creamy puréed soup. It's a broth based soup cooked right inside the pumpkin. That's right, i n s i d e the pumpkin. Save a pot, use the pumpkin!

I didn't get around to carving a pumpkin this year, but making this soup sort of felt like it. Broth, leeks, rosemary and salty parmesan cheese fill the cavity of the pumpkin. Pop on the top and roast away. Check out Pure Wow's

video

to get a better idea on how to make some d@#% good pumpkin soup.

The Best D@#% Pumpkin Soup
yields 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
1 small pie pumpkin, about the size of an acorn squash
1 clove of garlic, whole
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
3 sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken stock
lots freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a pairing knife and sketch out a circle about 5 in. in diameter. Sketching it out helps with making a more accurate cut. Now actually cut around the stem like you would a jack-o'-latern. Remove the top and scrape out the seeds and insides. Save the seeds for roasting later!

Place the garlic clove, leeks, and rosemary in the cavity of the pumpkin. Pour in your chicken stock. Freshly grind in a bunch of black pepper and sprinkle in the parmesan cheese. Put the top of the pumpkin back on and place it on your baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes. Your pumpkin should be shiny and golden when it's done. 

Remove the top and stir up the broth to mix up all the melty cheese. To serve, scrape spoonfuls of the pumpkin flesh from the inside and ladle into a bowl with the leeks and broth. Top with more cheese and pepper. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Happy Halloween week! I love Halloween, I always have. I used to plan my costumes a year in advance. The second Halloween was over, it was back to the drawing board for next year. I swear against just buying a costume from the party store. It was always homemade and always elaborate. This years costume is ready to go, and food related, as it should be. 

Okay stay with me for this next part.  Secret is out, I was on a sugar detox for the past four weeks. You probably ask, well Annie, what about the brownies you made? What about the cookies? Ya, I actually didn't have any. I licked the spoon here and there just for taste testing, but I actually went a whole month without any sweets. You also probably ask, why would you go on a detox right before the holidays? With all the pumpkin baking and Halloween candy, I saw it as the easiest excuse to say no. I followed Clara's plan with a few modifications. I was strict on no dessert or candy, I didn't use any artificial sweeteners in my coffee or oatmeal, I stuck to plain yogurt and limited my carb and fruit intake. The result. Nothing. After all of that, I found strength to say no to desserts, but I found satisfaction in things like cheese, chips and queso, handfuls of trail mix and binges on almond butter. My advice - don't do it. I think if I would have allowed a sweet treat here and there I would have been less likely to binge in other unhealthy ways. The one positive was my built up will power to say no to copious amounts of sugar. Now that my detox is over I plan on using the will power to eat sweets in moderation, but now I have a lot of fall baking and eating to catch up on.  Bring on the pumpkin ice cream, ginger cookies and pumpkin bread! 

On a pumpkin note, I have a week full of Halloween posts planned. When was the last time I posted every day of the week? If all goes as planned TAB will be busting with bites this week. I've been blog giddy recently; gearing up for something very exciting happening to the blog next Monday. You won't want to miss it. 

-These slutty brownies got lots of attention last week (just what they wanted, darn sluts). Take a bite of the recipe if you haven't already.
-Remember my farm grown green tomatoes from last week? I stuffed them with quinoa, herbs and blue cheese, loosely based off this recipe. 
-Working on my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Off to a good start, but more testing this week.
-A perfect rainy Thursday evening involved wining and dining, great conversation and great friends.
-I gear up every year for this local chili cook-off every year. Local restaurants cook up big crockpots of chili to compete for the "Carne Diem" title. I tried one with duck, one with chocolate, one with beer, one paired with a hush puppie and one with a jalapeno popper. My personal favorite actually won this year! Still waiting on my invitation to be one of the judges...
-A classy beer and fries pairing for a late night bite with friends. Our first meal of the night didn't quite suffice...
-Working on the weekends has its perks when you are friends with the kitchen staff. 
-Happy early birthday to our leading lady! She's NYC bound this weekend to see oldest sis and I'm extremely jealous. 
-Kathleen baked the most amazing spiced apple cake with maple frosting. With this being my first sweet in 4 weeks, I had two pieces. Then had a horrile headache and stomach ache...

Annie