Chewy Pumpkin Granola

September 29th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (Comments Off on Chewy Pumpkin Granola)

I’ve got another pumpkin recipe today, but please don’t be annoyed.  I promise that I’m about to lay off the orange stuff for a while to ensure my hands stay on the paler side of normal this season.

I’ve had a hankering for granola, but every time I look at the ingredient list on the packages in the store and then look at the price, I sigh dramatically, throw my head back with my forearm over my brow and cry “Why, Granola?  WHY?”  (and then I look around the granola aisle and say “who said that?  people in this store are crazy!”)

Pumpkin Muffins (Version 2.0)

September 25th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Short or Sweet - (4 Comments)

Here we go.  The season of Everything Pumpkin has arrived.  Are you ready?  Do you have your pumpkin game face on?  Pumpkin pie!  Pumpkin spice lattes!  Pumpkin lasagna!  (Pumpkin lasagna?)  I’m even ready to declare September “National Pester Your Mother to Make Pumpkin Muffins Month” because that’s exactly what my kids have been doing: pestering me to make pumpkin muffins.

OK gang, I’m ready.  Let’s do this.

Practice Practicing

September 21st, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (2 Comments)

You learn to cook so that you don’t have to be a slave to recipes. You get what’s in season and you know what to do with it.

-Julia Child

I got a recipe from a friend earlier this week that called for sausage and kale, among other ingredients.  The only two items I had on hand were the Italian sausage and kale, but those two items sounded like the answer to my What’s For Dinner Tonight prayers.

I decided to improvise and soon heard myself shouting “Hallelujah!” as a delicious sausage and vegetable medley of kale, tomato, carrot and pepper was born unto thee:

Please allow me to veer off course for a post to share Maxine’s Minecraft themed 7th birthday party. There was lots of running, and watermelon too – so you might be able to say it had a healthy living theme.  Sort of.  Except for the blue jello.  Blue jello that was probably not made from Organic, Locally Grown Smurfs.  I’m trying not to think about it.

Do your kids play Minecraft?  Mine sure do.  I might even call them “Minecraft Addicts”.  This is why it came as little surprise when Maxine requested a Minecraft birthday party this year.

Chicken Soup Habits

September 7th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (7 Comments)

Earlier this year I wrote about making chicken soup with bone broth and why bone broth is good for you.  To recap, broth made from animal bones and the bits that hold it all together (think ligaments and cartilage) is where lots of good, nutritious stuff is hanging out.  When you simmer these parts in water over a long period of time, you can make a broth that rich in vitamins, minerals, supports immune function and bone health.  Best of all, it’s delicious!