Heather (Ghost Baker) « DinnerCakes

Day 1 of Halloween Week – Happy Anniversary & Spicy Toasted Seeds!

October 19th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

It’s an exciting week at DinnerCakes! We’ll be doing a Halloween theme this week with some fun and festive ideas. Also, yesterday was DC’s 1 Year Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe it’s been one full year of adventures in the kitchen (we’ve had great success and some real flops!). We’ve tried to broaden our horizons.. I work a little harder to add veggies to my dinners (see Pineapple Mango Chicken Curry, Ravioli with Asparagus, Spinach and Peas and Taco Salad with Drunken Black Beans). Edwin learned that he can go on vacation, eat things that would make Ronald McDonald blush and still call himself a flexitarian when he gets home (see Greetings From The West – Day 1, Travel Day 2 – A Little Mexican, A Little Hype and Food Photography – Ribs and Cactus Fries). 🙂

We also completely overhauled our site design and banner, and added several new features such as Our Favorites, an archive of our Kitchen Tips and Food Photography and an About Us page. Hopefully the quality of our photos will also continue to improve (I got a new camera after a few months of blogging and man, it’s hard to look at some of those early photos with the point-and-click camera!).

Have I gotten Edwin to enjoy pumpkin yet? No, but he does seem a little more open to the idea of trying some things? Do we have a perfectly seamless recipe archive yet? No, but I can tell you that it’s in the works!

Clearly the upcoming year will hold new adventures and new challenges. What kinds of everyday recipes will I come up with to make my clinical rotations in the hospital a little easier? I’ve received a lot of requests for crock pot dinners, so you can probably look forward to more of that here. Will Edwin learn to embrace healthy and lean meats like fish? Just how many cookies will both of us eat at this year’s Third Annual Bake-A-Thon (and how disgusting will we feel afterwards…)? Only one way to find out!

But back to Halloween Week –

Probably a lot of you will be carving your pumpkins soon (and following our tips to make your Jack-o’-Lanterns last!). Don’t just throw away all that goo inside – you can make some tasty and healthy treats that are actually fun to eat. Pumpkin seeds contain both of the “good” fats – omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They’re a great source of iron, too.

Spicy Toasted Pumpkin or Acorn Squash Seeds
adapted from Simply Recipes

1 small/medium pumpkin
salt, chili powder, cayenne
oil

After carving and scooping out the insides of your pumpkin, preheat your oven to 400F. Separate the seeds from the pulp (be careful if you have contact dermatitis with squash like I do!) and rinse.

While oven preheats, boil seeds from one small/medium pumpkin in 2 cups of water with a dash of salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then drain.

Line cookie sheet with foil and brush with oil. Add the drained seeds to a small bowl and season with desired amounts of salt, chili powder, cayenne (easy on the cayenne, heavier on the chili powder) and a drop of oil. Stir until combined. Spread over the cookie sheet in one layer and bake for 12-15 minutes. Be sure not to overcook (they’ll start to get pretty dark if overcooking). Cool before serving.

Notes:
I like to eat mine whole, but some people prefer to remove the outer shell.
This recipe will also work well with acorn squash seeds (that’s actually what I used in these photos).
Enjoy Pumpkin Seeds plain, in salads, added to granola or in breads! For some fancy spice combos, check out 101 Cookbooks.

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Reviewing POMx Iced Coffee

October 15th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

A few weeks ago I got an email from the marketing people at POM Wonderful. They’re rolling out a new product – POMx Iced Coffee – and they wanted to send us some samples to try.

The iced coffee drinks come in three flavors – Cafe au Lait, Chocolate and Vanilla. While the POM Wonderful products are known for their use of pomegranate, from what I gather, the iced coffee drinks contain all-natural, ultra-potent antioxidants derived from pomegranates… but there are no actual pomegranates and it tastes nothing like them.

I am a self-proclaimed iced coffee junkee. The only unfortunate part about my method of making iced coffee is that it has to be done overnight. If I’m sleepy and forget to get it started before bed, I’m out of luck. The thought of having a tasty and reliable ready-made alternative was pretty thrilling.

Unfortunately I didn’t love the POMx Iced Coffee drinks. I thought Cafe au Lait or Vanilla would be my favorites, but it was actually the Chocolate that had the least noticeable aftertaste. I don’t know what the extra taste was, but it was pretty off putting to me.

I tried using the Chocolate Iced Coffee in a brownie recipe and the taste was fine but didn’t knock my socks off. I also thought the packaging, while definitely different looking, wasn’t the easiest to transport with the rest of my things on my way to class.

Have any of you tried the POMx Iced Coffee products? I’d love to hear your take on it. I really wish I enjoyed the product more because they seem like a neat company! Check out POM’s Recipes page, for example.

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Yogurt with Honey, A Natural Immune Builder

October 13th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

It’s true – I am a little crazy this week. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a few finals/tests for a class in my nursing school program, and in just six days I’ll start giving [supervised] patient care. Eep!

It’s safe to say I’ve been spending a lot of time on school, so it’s great when foodie things enter the discussion – last week one of our graduate advisors mentioned that her husband is a bee keeper, and one of the things they do in the fall and winter to boost their immune systems is mix some plain yogurt with raw honey.

I use plain yogurt for cooking and baking (see Tandoori Inspired Chicken and Red Potatoes, Spiced Chicken Kebabs and “Dad-approved” Blueberry Lemon Loaf), but I’m not a fan of just plain yogurt. The honey makes it sweeter and less tart, and I feel like I’m doing something reasonably good for my body (I guess snacking on bittersweet chocolate chips doesn’t help my immune system…).

I didn’t want to spend the money on raw honey or organic yogurt, so yes, I stuck with store brand and low-fat yogurt.. but feel free to dress this up with fancy organics as you see fit! Greek yogurt would probably be most yummy of all and raw honey really is a must if you want the full health benefits. Raw honey may help people who suffer from allergies, is a powerful antioxidant, contains natural antibiotics and is thought to stimulate the immune system into action.

The best part? It’s simple! Take a small serving of yogurt and drizzle on about a tablespoon of honey for flavor. Mix and enjoy!

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More Michael Pollan – Your Dietary Dos and Don’ts

October 10th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Michael Pollan’s favorite food rules that were posted in the comments on Tara Parker Pope’s health blog.

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Dog Food Quandry Follow-up

October 10th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Hey gang!

Thanks for all the great comments in our dog food discussion from Tuesday. Here are the collected links that were shared in case you missed it – a lot of good information was exchanged both here and on Facebook:

I decided on Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover’s Soul – Large Breed. The ratings I found for it were consistently strong. Consumer Search ranks it as one of the top four best foods and dog food analysis gives it a thoughtful four star rating. It’s also very reasonably priced – I just bought a 35 lb. bag last night for $38 including tax.

Once we decided that we liked the food, then it had to pass Biscuit’s test. Thankfully, Biscuit loves it. We did a taste test where I held the Chicken Soup chow in one hand and Purina in another. I repeated the test, and also did one where I held Chicken Soup and Science Diet in another hand. Chicken Soup won every time.

Unfortunately it can be a little difficult to find in stores. The only store in Charlottesville that sells it is Pet Supplies Plus, and they were out of stock earlier in the week. Ordering online is an option, but I shudder to think of what the shipping costs would be for such a heavy item. Hopefully our 35 pounder will last us a little while!

Even though our vet recommended Science Diet, after reading the above links I feel confident that the food we decided on is healthy and nutritious for our pup. I’m sure I’ll be visiting this topic again in a few months when he moves to adult food!

Have a great weekend!

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Kitchen Tips – Make Those Jack-o’-Lanterns Last!

October 9th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Pumpkins are primarily made up of water. Once you carve them and they start to lose their moisture, they unfortunately start to rot!

Ehow.com has a great article on prolonging your pumpkin’s life. Here’s what you do:

Step 1 – Clean pumpkin with washcloth and remove dirt. I also use a anti bacterial gel on mine. Carve it as usual.

Step 2 – Apply a Vaseline jelly type product everywhere you cut. Line it along the inside and the face cut outs. This will help keep moisture in and bacteria and heat out.

Step 3– When you are not using them (at night) wrap in Saran Wrap and place in a cold area. Your fridge will work fine. Take it out the following morning and remove wrap and place back on your porch.

Repeat as often as you need. Never wipe off the jelly. It helps prolong the life of your pumpkin. I slather mine on well and re-apply after 2 days. Get a lot!

And if you want more pumpkin fun, check out some Hershey’s Pumpkin Stencils, advanced stencils (including stencils to carve Twilight characters.. I’m not kidding) and brush up on your Jack-o’-Lantern traditions and history with a Wikipedia article.

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Food Photography – Spice Blend for Grilled Fish

October 7th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Bread crumbs, thyme, Old Bay, Chesapeake Bay Seasoning and other spices combine for grilled Flounder.

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Dog Food Quandry

October 6th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Hey DC readers!

So we’re trying to decide what brand of puppy food to keep Biscuit on, and I was hoping some of you fellow foodies could help!

We did some online research and found that Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul has good quality ingredients and is reasonably priced, so we’ve been trying to change him on to that food. But at our first vet appointment yesterday, the vet suggested that Iams and Science Diet are good brands that have a lot of long term research under their belts. When we pushed back a little he said that Iams were the people who broke the story about melamine in pet food a few years ago but that they didn’t get any credit.

I like science and data… so I appreciate that companies like Iams put a lot of money and research in to their product. I also understand that millions of dogs have been on Iams for years and done extremely well. I also understand the philosophical argument that better quality foods (without things like corn gluten meal and meat byproducts) should be more nutritious. We know that a fast food cheeseburger isn’t good for a person everyday, so we’re likely to think it’s not good for dogs either. But aside from passionate debate and outcry on the message boards, I haven’t seen much actual data about what’s better.

Have any of you run across data about what is actually healthier for dogs in the long run? What does your vet recommend?

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Follow-up on Organics

October 5th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

I’m so excited about this comment that I had to pull it out of the post and paste it here. A DC reader and friend of mine, Maggy, just commented on Edwin’s post from last week – “Do Organics Taste Better.” Maggy says,

“This is my favorite conversation to have in general. I think it’s not so much the ‘organic’ as the way it’s grown and also, especially with fruits and vegetables, the variety. Both Clark and I come from families where the same tomato (and potato, and everything else) plants have been passed down from house to house and family to family, and because they’re bred to taste good, rather than to pack well in a box or to stay ripe-looking for two weeks, they taste much more incredible and different, even as sauces.

You can see the same thing with meat, too. Heather knows I’m into the beef thing, but a few years in the past we had identical cuts from beef raised on Clark’s farm and beef from the grocery store; we did blind taste tests and everyone could tell the difference.
The whole subject fascinates me, especially since we’ve started a garden and we have tried raising different varieties of the same thing (i.e. sweet corn).

Oh, and on the eggs…it’s not that they are organic, it’s what they eat. One of my dad’s employees has four daughters who, as a 4H project, separated their chickens and fed them different things to see how the yolk colors were affected…the darker yolks came from higher-protein diets.”

Maggy’s fiance and his family own a cattle farm. Boxwood Farm is currently accepting orders for winter beef delivery – check it out!

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming…

October 5th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

to bring you something adorable!

Meet Biscuit. Morgan and I brought him home yesterday. He is a big sweetheart. He also enjoys kibble, his cow and constant attention! Today is our first full day with him – please wish us luck!

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