Klatch Kitchen's Fall Bounty

Fall is here. We've carved our first pumpkin. Drank the first cup of hot chocolate. Have been blitzed by acorns from our oak tree. And stocked the kitchen from Mom's and neighborhood Asian supermarket with cozy fall foods.

Not sure why anyone ever badmouths Brussels Sprouts. They must have only experienced them as overcooked bland mush. We roasted our first batch this weekend and Brussels Sprouts will most likely appear among Thanksgiving side dishes at our house.

Simplest and tastiest Brussels: quarter them, drizzle and mix with olive oil, sea salt, cumin, and coriander and roast at 375 degrees 30-35 minutes (just watch closely for golden brown, pulling out before they burn).  

 

This is no ordinary yam. Korean Sweet Potato (Goguma) is nutty and sweet, more akin to a chestnut's flavor than regular sweet potato.

 



Baked or roasted, Goguma is a tasty alternative to sweet potato with a unique flavor. Be sure not to undercook it, the texture is too firm and the flavor just isn't there until it is fully cooked.

 

We carved our first Jack-O-Lantern and toasted the seeds. Our kitchen is the coziest place in the world these days. Don't believe me? Come on over.

 

Pumpkin Seeds drying off before toasting.

 

Homemade spiced donuts getting some mileage out of my new donut pan! These are baked and GF (that's inside speak for Gluten Free). Kid folk was over the moon.

 

A year ago, I couldn't imagine making donuts at home. But it is surprisingly easy once you take the whole deep frying out of the equation. Donuts were especially good just out of the oven.

 

Chef Matt got me past my prejudice for beets but golden beets are a whole another ball game. For one, there is no staining to deal with. And they are so very pretty. Besides, aren't beets the trendy veg these days? Roasted and tossed in vinaigrette, excellent. 

 

 

 

Kabocha is a Japanese winter squash, rich in beta carotene, iron, and potassium. We've always stuck with butternut and acorn, how very dull. Until now (I mean a squash is a squash, right? How hard can this be?).

 

Kabocha awaits its fate in my kitchen.

 

A nod back to the summer, the makings of tomatillo salsa. Tomatillos, onion, lime juice, and jalapeno, into the food processor and done! Spicy tasty salsa to top off anything boring. I must say while the flavor was great, the texture of tomatillo was a turn off. Perhaps green tomatoes next time!

 

 

Happy Fall! Drop me a note and tell me what's cooking in your kitchen.

 



Mom's Market Down the Street

Just days ago Mom's Organic Market opened its doors just two stop lights down the street from me. Mom's Organic is like Whole Foods' hipper little sister, slightly cooler and the type of appeal to a country general store shopper, even if a little less posh.

Let me tell you, WF may be bigger but it has nothing on Mom's when it comes to nut butters, non-dairy mayo, and a slew of other products that use to be just for the most crunchy set.

I hear coconut oil does wonders for baking. Send recipes, please.

 

Our tots were not fooled by the fetching display of radicchio and celery root.

 

Look at all this bounty! This display inspires one to cook just a bit healthier.

 

 

Best of all, the store has a formidable selection of raw, gluten-free, vegan, and otherwise atypical foods. No Twinkies here, friends.

 

Bob's Red Mill, a staple.

Tasty Muffins

Everyone has a go-to muffin and this one is mine. At every opportunity we stock the pantry from Applehill Country store, including bags of lovely almond flour. The recipe is largely based on this one I dug up eons ago from Epicurious when searching for almond flour uses.

With this recipe as basis, I have made muffins my own, substituting pumpkin for milk or molasses for honey, throwing in frozen cranberries or a bit of bran. I often use cardamom for an exotic whiff of Scandinavian baking. I end up making these so frequently that can spew out the recipe by memory:

Tip: a 1/4 cup measuring spoon is just about right, these muffins do not rise a great deal on the account of heavy flour.

1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1 1/2 cups of flour (brown rice for gluten free version though the outcome is a bit drier, rye or buckwheat for a denser muffin, or just plain old whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of honey (molasses gives a deeper flavor and moisture; buckwheat honey is another good alternative)
2 tsp of baking powder
Pinch of salt
A bit of cinnamon or cardamom, ginger is nice too
1 1/4 cups of milk (I have used canned pumpkin or squash to get some veg in my family's breakfast)
1 egg
Some raisins or cranberries ( I have tried frozen raspberries but the texture is seedy)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients except the last one in Kitchenaid and mix well while pouring a glass of wine you deserve. Add the last ingredient and keep mixing until just combined.

Scoop mixture into lined muffin tin using 1/4 cup measuring spoon. In the oven they go for 20-25 min(test with a toothpick). Finish your wine - you have breakfast treat or lunch goodie.