Pumpkin Pie Through a Straw

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Homesick for the taste of your grandma’s pumpkin pie? Counting down the days until Thanksgiving desserts? Well, now you can have all the potent, pumpkiny goodness of a homemade pie in a glass. Best of all, it only takes a couple of minutes to make!

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 ½ cups milk

1 tablespoon peanut butter (optional)

½ to ¾ cups brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Enjoy your smoothie cold or hot.

Hints:

· Adjust the spice and sugar amounts to your personal desires.

· If the pumpkin flavor is too strong, you can substitute some applesauce or even a banana.

· You could make an equally delicious sweet potato pie smoothie by substituting one orange root vegetable for another.

Missing Maman's Persian Rice Pudding

This rice pudding isn’t creamy and heavy, instead it has a mildly sweet fragrance and taste, and is refreshing served cold.

Ingredients:
1 cup of basmati rice
2 ¼ cups water
2 ½ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons rose water
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup sugar if you like your pudding sweet…if not, good for you
Cinnamon and cardamom to taste

Directions:
In a large pyrex bowl, mix the rice and 2 cups of the water. Microwave partially covered on high for 6 minutes. Leave to steam for 15 minutes (don’t get impatient and open the microwave door!). Add the milk and microwave (always covered)for 6 more minutes, this time leaving to steam for 20 minutes. Finally, add the last ¼ cup of water, and microwave for 3 minutes. When the bowl is safe to take out of the microwave, remove it and add your rosewater, vanilla, sugar, and spices. Makes: 6 servings

Hints:

• The heating times I outlined for this recipe are what worked for my 900 watt microwave. When you try making the pudding, make sure to test your rice between heatings to make sure it is cooking fully; you may need more or less time, depending on the power of your oven. Don't burn yourself please!
  


• I think this pudding tastes best cold and drizzled with honey.

Savoring My Sweet Sesame!!

Tahini Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies packed with an intense sesame flavor. They are butter free, easy to make, and delicious dipped in a steaming cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup tahini (crushed sesame seeds)

1 egg

¼ cup honey

Directions:

Mix together the sugar, flour, soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the tahini, egg, and honey.

Pour the flour mixture into the tahini mixture and stir until well incorporated (you may have to use your hands).

Shape the dough into approximately 3 dozen balls and flatten on a cookie pan to about ½ thick and 2 inches wide.

Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and slightly firm.

Hints:

If you cannot find tahini in your local grocery store, or if you simply have an excess of sesame seeds, you can roast them and then grind them up in a food processor. However, be warned that you must grind them fully until there are no more kernels, only a smooth and creamy sesame “butter”.

For added decoration, try sprinkling sesame seeds on top of the cookies before baking them. If you have them, use black sesame seeds for added color contrast.

Late-Night Indulgence

Super Simple Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Makes 24 servings of delectable, low cholesterol, (almost)dairy-free fudge.

Ingredients:
½ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup white sugar

Directions:
5. Mix together the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
6. Microwave on high for 1 minute and mix vigorously.
7. Pour the fudge onto a plate or pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
8. Freeze for one hour.
9. Remove the pan, peel off the paper or foil, and cut into small cubes.
10. Enjoy immediately or store in the freezer for later consumption.

Hints:
• Use chunky peanut butter if you would like small pieces of nuts in your fudge. If you prefer to avoid the nutty bites, then go for creamy peanut butter.
• This fudge melts rapidly! Don’t leave it sitting out for too long or you will end up with peanut butter chocolate frosting instead of fudge (unless that is what you desire).
• For those with peanut allergies or simply craving some even more gourmet nut fudges, substitute almond butter, hazelnut butter, or cashew butter instead of the peanut butter.

Humming for Hummus

Homemade Hummus

Makes approximately 1 ½ cups of hummus.

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
2 teaspoons tahini (crushed sesame seeds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 clove of garlic

Directions:
1. Drain the garbanzo beans and put them in a food processor or blender.
2. Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic to the food processor.
3. Close the lid, and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Taste it, and add more salt, lemon, or tahini if needed.

Hints:
• This is just a basic recipe. Be creative with it! Add basil, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, etc. The possibilities are endless!
• Tahini can be hard to find, but one jar is enough to make many batches of hummus. It will keep well in the fridge for months and if you have a jar on hand you will be able to make hummus al the time.
• You can enjoy this hummus on pita, in sandwiches, with fresh veggies, or as a healthy salad dressing. Or you can do it my way and simply dip your fingers in for a delicious snack!

Little Cocoa Bites

Microwave Cocoa Mini Muffins

Makes about 40 mini muffins.

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup applesauce

Directions:

1. Mix together the flours, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the applesauce.

3. Pour the dry mix in with the eggs and applesauce and mix well.

4. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly on a ceramic plate.

5. Microwave on high for 1 minute and let them cool slightly before eating.

Hints:

· You will need to make multiple batches in order to cook all 40 mini muffins. When the first batch is done, transfer the muffins to another plate to cool, and continue making more muffins on the same plate.

· You may add walnuts, almonds, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

· You could also make the muffins in a microwaveable muffin tray or make a flat bread on the ceramic plate.

Pizza Party (the VEG way)

Fresh Veggie Pizza

Makes one intense, 12”, deep dish, vegetable-laden pie.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 bag (1 lb) of premade pizza dough
1 cup tomato sauce
2 medium tomatoes (heirloom is best)
½ pound mushrooms (white button, crimini, etc.)
1 bell pepper (any color)
¼ onion
½ zucchini
3/4 cup (6 oz) mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Sprinkle the cornmeal over a baking stone or pizza pan. Take the dough out of its bag and let it “rest” on the pan for 20 minutes.
2. While waiting, thinly slice the tomatoes and bell peppers, and finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and zucchini.
3. Stretch the dough out to cover the pan (it should make a circle of approximately 12 inches in diameter).
4. Pour the sauce on and spread it around to evenly coat the dough, leaving a crust of about one inch.
5. Sprinkle about a third of the cheese over the sauce.
6. Place the sliced tomatoes on top, followed by the next third of the cheese.
7. Sprinkle the remaining veggies evenly over the pizza, and finally end with the last third of the cheese.
8. Bake the pizza for 10 minutes at 450°F.
9. Cut the pizza into slices and enjoy!

Hints:
• Vary the toppings according to your (and your roommate’s) personal desires. This recipe can also be adapted to fit whatever vegetables are currently in season.
• For the best tasting, most ecologically friendly pizza, buy as many of the vegetables as possible at a local farmers’ market. The veggies will be fresh, and organic, and you can enjoy your pizza with the peace of mind that comes from making a positive contribution to your community and your environment.
• If you are feeling ambitious, you may want to attempt making your own pizza dough from scratch. If you have the time and ingredients for a homemade crust, go for it! Otherwise, buy premade dough from Trader Joe’s (available in garlic herb, whole wheat or white flour varieties).

Bursting with Berries!

Wild Blackberry Syrup

We used blackberries picked from the Strawberry Canyon fire trail, up in the hills of Berkeley. This is a great way to combine an exciting berry picking adventure with a deliciously comforting pancake breakfast. We paired this syrup with our chocolate chip banana pancakes (see previous post) but it would be equally delectable poured on French toast, waffles, muffins, or any kind of bread. This recipe makes about 2 cups of syrup, but you can easily adjust it to the amount of blackberries that you manage to come procure.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon corn starch
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
1. Mix the blackberries, corn starch, and sugar together in a small saucepan.
2. Mash the blackberries slightly with a wooden spoon.
3. Simmer the syrup on low heat for at least half an hour, stirring constantly.
4. Pour the syrup over your desired bread product and enjoy warm.

Hints:
• Taste the syrup as you cook it. You may want to add more sugar, or other spices such as cinnamon.
• If there are a couple people in the kitchen, one person can make the syrup while the other prepares the pancakes. This way they will both be hot at the same time, and you will end up with an extra exotic breakfast!
• Wild blackberries are fun to pick, but make sure to wear jeans and go prepared to get scratched. Blackberry thorns are brutal!

PANCAKES!!!

Chocolate Chip Banana Berry Pancakes

Serves 5-6 people

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups nonfat milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup (8 oz) blueberries (optional)
2 bananas, chopped or mashed (optional)
½ cup (4 oz) chocolate chips (optional)
canola or coconut oil

Directions:
1. Mix together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, and mix in the milk and yogurt.
3. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir well.
4. Add in the fruits and chocolate as desired.
5. Heat up a griddle or pan on the stove and pour enough oil on to barely coat the surface.
6. Drop about ½ cup of the mixture on the heated pan. Repeat for as many pancakes as you can easily fit on the pan without their edges touching.
7. When bubbles begin to form, use a spatula to flip the pancakes to their other side and continue heating until cooked throughout.
8. Serve warm and top with maple syrup, honey, jam, or applesauce.

Hints:
• Frozen blueberries can be used if you don’t have fresh ones available.
• If the batter is too thin, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more milk.
• If you are having trouble flipping the pancakes, make them smaller.

Missing the smell of homemade cookies?

Peanut Butter n' Honey Cheerio Cookies

This recipe makes about two dozen chewy little treats. Without butter or sugar, you can feel free to snack away at these healthy cookies that feature the most wonderful combo on earth: peanut butter and honey! The best part is that they are cooked in the microwave in just three minutes.

Ingredients:

¼ cup peanut butter

½ cup honey

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 egg

½ cup whole wheat flour

4 cups cheerios

½ cup raisins

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey, yogurt, and egg.

2. Mix in the flour, and then the cheerios and raisins. Make sure that all the cheerios are well coated in the honey mixture.

3. With a wooden spoon, mash the mixture evenly onto a large microwave-safe plate. Press down firmly with the back of the spoon.

4. Microwave it on high for three minutes.

5. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes and then break off small chunks and smoosh them into balls. Place these balls onto another plate and flatten them to about half an inch thick.

6. Place the plate in the refrigerator and chill the cookies for at least half an hour.

7. Enjoy the cookies cold or heated slightly.

Hints:

· Feel free to add chocolate chips, peanuts, almonds, etc.

· If the cheerio mixture falls apart and is difficult to form into balls, make smaller cookies.

· Don’t be afraid to get your hands messy! It’s just part of the fun.

Baking withdrawal takes its toll

3-Minute Sweet Bread in a Bowl

Makes two servings of delectable, healthy sweet bread.

Ingredients:
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup oats
¼ cup brown sugar ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugar, soda, and cinnamon.
2. In a glass or ceramic (not metal) bowl, beat the eggs.
3. Mix the milk and honey in with the eggs.
4. Pour the dry ingredients in with the wet, and mix well.
5. Put the bowl into the microwave and heat on high for three minutes.
6. Remove the bowl and invert it onto a plate. Enjoy!

Hints:
• If you would like sweeter, moister bread, drizzle honey generously over the top as soon as it is done cooking.
• In place of a bowl, you may pour the batter into several mugs, decrease the cooking time to two minutes, and make muffins instead.
• Make sure that your bowl is microwave safe before you begin!
• This is a basic recipe, so adjust it according to your preferences. I would recommend adding other spices such as nutmeg and cloves if you have them.

You say "moo" I say "booo!"

Thus far on our still-fledgling blog, the question of “why eat vegetarian?” hasn’t been explicitly addressed. Let me remedy that. Of the myriad reasons to eat a plant-based diet, “animal rights,” thanks to groups like PETA, has been the most highly publicized. Touching though the argument may be, the environmental and nutritional reasons to abstain from meat are far more relevant to a much larger demographic (basically everyone except PETA head-honchos and slaughterhouse workers).

A vegetarian diet low in processed foods uses much less land and many fewer resources than a diet that includes meat. Consider first the undeniably large amount of land, water, and labor that goes into producing a crop of any plant. Then imagine feeding all of that crop to cattle which need their own land, water, and care, in addition to the crop we just fed them. By now, the cattle have become an expensive investment; in essence, we’ve grown food to feed to more food. Cattle (or any livestock) aren’t only an expensive investment;they are an investment that returns only 10% of the input. Get it now? We’ve grown all this food, only to ultimately consume 10% of its original yield.

In the simplest economic terms, this is a nonsensical practice. Some will argue that meat is worth more than plant-food; I argue that worth is a relative term. A pound of corn no doubt brings the farmer less money than a pound of beef, but we forget to include all of the externalities associated with beef or any other meat. A short comparison of the negative environmental side effects of growing a plant crop versus livestock: plant crops use copious amounts of water and industrial fertilizers, which cause runoff that pollutes rivers and lakes. Raising livestock in crowded feedlots—themselves breeding grounds for disease—magnifies all these effects, and then goes on to additionally create massive amounts of excrement that pollute waterways.

Obviously any diet one chooses to follow has its costs, but we have to eat, right?! Many of the negative aspects of vegetarian and omnivorous diets can be minimized by eating organic and local produce or (if you must eat meat) grass-fed animal products. If I haven’t just guilted you into becoming a vegetarian for the environmental reasons, check back for the (scarily) compelling nutritional reasons to make the switch.

~Grace

Don't let that apple fly far from its tree!

Some people may claim that the major attractions of living in California are the mild weather, sunny beaches, and progressive political spirit. For me, however, California is the land of abundant produce. I tremble at the mere thought of living someplace where the grocery stores are not constantly stocked with ten types of citrus and an abundance of apples, grapes, carrots, and celery.

Of course, in today’s modern world of globalization and mass transport, it has become easy to buy mangoes and starfruit in the dead of winter in Vermont. Yet this phenomenon has led to massive increases in the nation’s use of fossil fuels. The average piece of fresh produce travels over 1500 miles from where it is grown to where it is consumed. Because of domestic food transportation in the United States alone, 120 million tons of CO₂ are released into the atmosphere each year.

This story is not all doom and gloom, however, at least not for people lucky enough to be living in California. Approximately 90% of all fresh vegetables consumed in this country were grown in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. Now it is true that UC Berkeley was not built in the middle of a farm by any means. However, there are a plethora of local farmers around the area, and innumerable sources of fresh, healthy, local produce available to students here.

Doing your part to decrease the country’s carbon footprint is easy if you are a Berkeley student. Personally, my favorite way to get delicious local foods is to take a trip to the farmers’ market. At these markets, you will not only find fresh fruits and vegetables, but also organic cheeses, yogurts, baked goods, and more, all grown and made by locals. There is a farmers’ market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, each at a different location close to campus. For more information, go to http://ecologycenter.org/bfm/.

Of course, many students feel restrained by meal plans and dining commons. Fortunately, Cal Dining has entered into an alliance with the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” campaign, with the result that 60% of their produce (in season) comes from farmers in the surrounding area. That “in season” part is where you come in though. A high demand for fruits and veggies that are naturally ripe right here and right now will encourage store owners to purchase local produce instead of ordering a shipment of peaches from the tropics in the middle of January. For more information on what crops are ripe during what months in this area, go to http://www.seasonalchef.com/cropchart3.htm.

Also remember that locally grown foods are more likely to be fresh and free of toxins or other harmful contaminants. So get out there to a farmers’ market, buy only what is in season, and always look for that “grown in California” sticker. You will be doing the earth, the farmers, and your body a huge favor!

~Sara