finding ways to stay warm

Cold weather warrants a warm meal and a new scarf!


Tonight Chef Lucky treated us to dinner including arepas and picadillo. The aroma brings back memories of childhood and the food fills your belly with goodness. There were big helpings and plenty of left overs. The recipes for both are very "shit-it-in" and not exact, with creativity being rewarded in flavor. Inquiring minds should...ask Lucky!

Also on tonight's agenda was the finishing of a new scarf. Morgan suggested that I play with color more. Using various yarns and fun colors, I was inspired to change the pattern of so many other scarves in my closet. The result was this fun new garment that could be perfect for staying warm in the Andes or strolling down the Pride parade. Either way, the colors are fun and it will be sure to keep me warm this spring!

Pattern:

• This is a basic ribbed pattern: knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl, continuing on for 360 stitches. This will create the length of the scarf.
• Begin with one color, using the basic ribbed pattern, continue for 10 rows.
• Begin new color, leaving a little extra of first color to be sewn in later.
• Add as many colors as you want, in this case I chose 4.
• After you are done, be sure to weave in the extra length of each color. Doing this will prevent you from having to make unsightly knots and will prevent the scarf from unraveling later. It will also make friends like Kelli happy that I learned and listened!

Momma knows best...and how to cook chili!

Momma surprised me with a visit to DC for the holidays! Hooray! Unfortunately, she had to return home, but before she did she made a batch of chili for all.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (16 oz. each) of dark red beans


• 2 cans (16 oz. each) of light red beans


• 2 cans (16 oz. each) of diced tomatoes (mix and match on your preferred additional flavors)


• 1 pound ground chicken


• 1 large white onion, diced


• 1/2 tsp of garlic


• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin


• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook meat in a skillet.


2. Combine meat, beans, tomatoes (drain 1 can before adding to mix), onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper into the crockpot.


3. Turn crockpot onto high for 6 hours.

Serving:

Add shredded cheddar cheese on top of a served bowl of this chili. Can also be paired with tortilla chips for a chicken tortilla chili!

Pumpkin Milkshake = Good Stuff

Leave it to Chef Spike to create the most amazing milkshake ever: Pumpkin/Squash! The cashier reassured me that this tasty treat is the best thing they have going right now. He is correct. The yummyness of pumpkin puree fills your mouth like cold pumpkin pie. The treat includes little surprises of graham cracker as you sip. Topped off with candied pumpkin seeds (best idea EVER) and this treat will rock your world! (believe me, it did!)

Pumpkin in 2010

It's Election Day. After a brief hiatus for election madness, the pumpkin trail continues. This morning started with a pumpkin muffin filled with cream cheese frosting from Starbucks. Tasty you ask? Delish! If you are looking for a delightful breakfast treat, head over and get your own.

Post-lunch dessert? Don't mind if I do! Election Day deserves some pumpkin ice cream. I had the option between pumpkin and pumpkin pecan. Unfortunately, the pecans in the latter overpowered the pumpkin flavor. So I went with the original.

Happy Election Day pumpkin lovers!

Mutiny on the Campaign Trail

Delaware has funny laws about alcohol. You can't buy it in the grocery store and beer is generally sold separately from the wine and spirits. Okay maybe not so weird, but definitely inconvenient. Luckily we hit the motherload today.

Unfortunately, pumpkin ales are flying off the shelf so that both stores and their vendors are already out of stock.

I was able to get my hands on a 1 pt. 6 fl oz. of Heavy Seas' (Mutiny Fleet) The Great Pumpkin: Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

This spicy ale includes a deep pumpkin flavor with the spicy aftertaste that I love. Oh and it's brewed in Baltimore. Yay! :)

49 degrees is perfect for a blizzard

One perk of Wilmington, DE is the local Dairy Queen. Since it is pumpkin season, the DQ has decided to join the pumpkin craze and offers a pumpkin pie flavored blizzard. After all it is the flavor of the month. Hooray! This sweet treat combines Cinnamon Toast Crunch (for the pie crust), vanilla ice cream, and real pumpkin puree. Together they create the perfect pumpkin pie blizzard.

You can find a Dairy Queen near you: www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/store-locator/

DQ also features a pumpkin pie ice cream cake. That will probably have to wait until the weekend when I have Adam here to share it with. :)

pumpkin inside pumpkin

As the weather is dropping it is time for a hearty meal. This pumpkin chili provides just that! A twist on a classic this version gives you a taste of pumpkin. Perfect this treat by serving it in a pumpkin bowl.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of ground turkey (veggie friends: try tofu crumbles)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (this is a seasonal spice that will take some searching)
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1/4 cup of white sugar

Directions:

Chili:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook turkey (or tofu); then drain.
2. Stir onion and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, and pumpkin puree.
4. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder, and sugar.
5. Simmer 1 hour.

Pumpkin bowl:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Clean and dry small pumpkin.
3. Cut off top to create a bowl.
4. Dig out insides, use a spoon to scrape sides clean. Clean pumpkin seeds and dry.
5. On a cookie sheet place cleaned out pumpkin bowl upside down on the pan. Also place dried pumpkin seeds on the pan at the same time.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. When removing from the oven, the pumpkin bowls will be soft but still in tact. The inside walls of the bowl are eatible!
   
   

ps. turns out that cats love pumpkin seeds too!