Pumpkin Lovin' Recipe: Pumpkin Curry

Often you don't want to do the typical pumpkin recipes anymore… You want something different…
What about a lovely indian pumpkin curry!?

Oh I know, that sounds complicated!!!

It sounds as if you had to go to a special Asian store and buy relatively big bags of many different spices and leaves and seeds just to achieve the curry flavor. Spices that you might never use again (or use just very rarely anyway) and that you will have to trash at a certain point…
The thing is: I love cooking curry! But I hate having millions of bags of spices and experimenting with them like an alchemist only to find out at the end that my concoction doesn't taste anything like what I imagined in my head when I started cooking…

So I resort to a shortcut.
(Don't tell my indian family :-o)

But believe me, this shortcut will still make your food unique, will impress your dinner-guests and I can guarantee you, no one will leave complaining… not even Indian guests (so far at least :-))
My shortcut is to buy a few key spice-mixtures from the Asian / Indian store. I usually opt for the different types of Shan Masalas (you can find their official website here but you can buy these spice mixtures on amazon too or just go to an Indian store and have a look at them, smell them and buy the ones that impress you most :-)).
Don't get me wrong: I never follow the recipes listed on these spice mixtures!!!
Besides them being too spicy and strong for me, I also like to give them my own twist and keep it my secret how I mix and match them with my own recipes. A secret that I am more than happy to share with you :-)

For this particular recipe I use a combination of Aaloo Bhaji Masala which is intended for a specific potato dish and the Vegetable Curry Masala which, as the name suggests, goes well with veggies. You can easily use only of the two, but in my opinion, the combination gives the dish an original twist. Just have fun with it and at first add less masala and keep tasting and adding until you achieve the taste you like best! :-)

[picture coming soon]

Ingredients:
1/4 big onion

1 tsp ginger paste (or chopped fresh ginger root - which makes the ginger taste more prominent)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp sweet red paprika powder

1 - 2 tsp of Aaloo Bhaji Masala

1 - 2 tsp of Vegetable Curry Masala 

(or just use of the two masalas)

1/4 pumpkin

2 russet potatoes

2 carrots

2 cups water

optional: 

- 1 chopped tomato

- 1 can of chickpeas

- 1/2 cup sour cream (or yoghurt) 

Directions:

1. On a little bit of oil sauté finely chopped onions and fresh ginger root (or ginger paste) till onions are golden. Add turmeric and paprika and one or both of the Shan Masalas. 

2. If you choose to add a tomato, you would do that now: Chop it finely and add to the onion and spices. The idea is that the tomato should dissolve/disappear into the sauce so it should have plenty of time to cook. 

3. Chop the pumpkin, potatoes and carrots into cubes. To try to keep them all cooked evenly you should add the carrots first, let them simmer with the onion and spices for a few minutes, then add the potatoes and only after a few minutes add the pumpkin. (Pumpkin cooks first and carrots last - but I actually don't mind the pumpkin becoming part of the sauce rather than actual defined cubes…)

4. If you choose to add chickpeas to your curry, you would do that as a very last addition. As the canned chickpeas are already precooked, they don't need actual cooking time, rather than time to absorb the spices… Don't hesitate to add the water of the chickpea-can - that too is filled with taste and goodness :-)
5. Add about two cups of water and let the curry simmer till carrots are soft - about for half an hour. 

6. I like to add some sour cream or yoghurt towards the end (about 10 min before I would switch off the stove) to add a little creaminess to the curry. 

7. As a side you can serve the classic Basmati rice and/or Naan bread. To add a little crunch to the dish you can serve some Poppadoms with it too. And if you need an extra spice, you can serve some indian mango or lime pickle as well. 

ENJOY! ... and let me know how you liked it… :-)

I'm Back!!!

Hi everyone!

I am so sorry for this big gap in posting! 

Truth is: my computer died and the password to this blog too… :-D 

I couldn't remember and access it for the life of me :-o 

But now I am back!!!

Yeeeeeeey!!!

Just in time to resume my 'Pumpkin Lovin' Recipes' this fall...

So keep checking in and I promise there will be new posts popping up very very soon!

Pumpkin Lovin' Recipe: Baked Pumpkin Slices

Let me start this series of recipes with a recipe that magically transports me back home into my childhood when this particular dish was one of the most favorite foods of my dearest granddad Nagyapuska as well as it still is one the of the favorites of my beloved mum Anyuci. Just the aroma that fills the apartment while preparing this oh so simple yet delicious and healthy dish magically brings back so many heart-warming memories of my childhood... 

It is a very simple recipe and a healthy and cheap one as well... 

...and seriously: all you need is a pumpkin. 

Ingredients:
1 pumpkin :-)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. 

2. Find a really strong and sharp knife and cut the pumpkin in half first. 

3. You will see how in the middle of the pumpkin there are seeds and what can be called 'guts'. Spoon all of this out into a separate bowl (no need to throw any of it into the garbage - I will post recipes above that will show you how to utilize the entire pumpkin without wasting any of it!)
4. Now that you have a hollow pumpkin half cut it up into small pieces - 10cm/4in long strips that will be easy to hold and eat with your hands.
5. Place the pumpkin pieces on parchment paper on a baking tray and bake int he oven for about 30-45 minutes or till golden and soft (if you poke a fork into one of the pieces it should have the consistency of a overcooked potato :-))

Variation: I remember we used to eat the pumpkin just plain: without any oil or butter as well as without any spices... honestly the taste of the pumpkin is rich and unique and I don't think it needs any addition... 

HOWEVER: if you want, you can have two variations of this recipe by adding simple touches: 

1) Savory snack: by adding olive oil or butter and salt or even pepper or chili this can become a healthy afternoon or game day snack. 

2) Healthy desert: by adding honey, maple syrup or brown sugar as well as cinnamon, cardamon, cloves or vanilla you can easily transform this dish into a healthy and unique desert.

Note: This is also the basis of how to prepare pumpkin puree that can be later used for a bunch of different recipes - I will post more about this later...

ENJOY! ... and let me know how you liked it or if you have any suggestions... :-) 

PS: Soon I will post a Fact-Sheet about the health benefits of pumpkins - once you check that out you will be even more pleased knowing that this scrumptious dish also benefits you :-) 

Pumpkin Lovin' Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

As I mentioned earlier there is no need to throw out any part of the pumpkin really! Especially not the seeds! Just wait for the Fact-Sheet about the seeds only and you will be convinced that it would be shame to waste all that healthy yumminess :-) 

For this recipe you don't even need a pumpkin - that's how simple it is! :-) 

Ingredients:
The seeds of 1 pumpkin :-)

1/2 teaspoon of olive oil

A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. 

2. Whatever you do with a pumpkin - the seeds are your leftovers: Clean the pumpkin-guts off of the seeds but don't wash them (the pumpkin juice that is a little bit around them will make the salt and pepper stick to the seed and thus encapsulate the taste). 

3. In a bowl: mix the pumpkinseeds with olive oil, salt and pepper (or spices of your choosing).

4. Place the pumpkin seeds on parchment paper on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or till golden.

Variation: I remember my mum preparing this without any oil and only adding a little bit of salt at the very end once the seeds were already roasted. I on the other hand really like the tiny spicyness of the pepper - as I really think pumpkin and pepper go very well together - but I can certainly imagine you variating this to your liking with whatever spices you prefer! 

Just have fun with it and let me know what combinations you come up with :-) 

Note: By the way: these roasted lumpkin seeds are not only delicious as a snack (instead of the calorie packed nuts or the unhealthy chips) but also as a fancy topping for you classical pumpkin soup. Believe me, it's delicious and it gives the soup a fun crunch! 

ENJOY! 

Pumpkin Lovin' Recipe: Pumpkin (Cranberry ChocChip etc etc etc) Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour (leveled and sifted) 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 1/2 cup (brown) sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

20 oz fresh pumpkin puree

1 cup of greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil

1 cup chocolate chips 

1 cup cup dried cranberries 

Note: Before you start with the Pumpkin Bread, you need to prepare your Pumpkin puree: Find the instructions here. 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. 

TIP: Before you start combining all the ingredients, take a small bowl and add the chocolate chips and the dried cranberries (and / or any other yumminess you want to add to the bread at the end - like pistachios or nuts or figs...). Add a couple of spoons of flour and mix it all well so that every ChocChip and every cranberry is well coated with flour. This is the trick how to prevent all these toppings to sink to the bottom of the bread. For some magical reason the flour coating will keep them levitating in the dough ensuring a quite regular distribution of the goodies. It's a genius trick and it really works! 

2. In a smaller bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

TIP: I use a sifter to make sure the flour doesn't have lumps. I also add the other ingredients between the cups of flour to sift them trough and ensure that all the dry ingredients are mixed well and evenly. 

3. In a bigger bowl add the sugar and eggs - whisk them smooth and creamy - and then mix in the other wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, vanilla extract and oil. 

4. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix together. Be careful to not overmix the dough - at this point I don't use the electric mixer but just a wooden spoon to stir it all together gently. 

5. Now spray two loaf pans (or any baking form really - I like to use my bunt cake pan and it looks great!) with nonstick spray or use some butter to wipe the pan and then dust some flour over it so the bread can come out of the pan easily when it's done. 

5. As a very last step gently stir the chocolate chips and cranberries into the dough. Fill your baking form to 3/4 with the dough - the bread will rise a little while baking. 

6. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Use the skewer test to see when the bread is done to perfection: by poking e bread with a wooden skewer and checking the consistency of the dough in the heart of it... 

Variation: I really like the combination of pumpkin, cranberry and chocolate chip (I use the the dark chocolate chips because they are not too sweet) but as I mentioned above - you can add other goodies as well: like different kinds of nuts or other dried fruit... Just have fun with it and add whatever your favorite goodies may be :-) 

ENJOY! 

Pumpkin Lovin'

'Tis the season ... to indulge in some pumpkin lovin' !!! 

All November we've been exposed to them: representing the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter... They serve as decoration: they get painted, embellished and carved... 

But there comes a point when you have to figure out what to do with all the pumpkins... what to do with the guts, the flesh, the seeds... 

There is definitely more to a pumpkin than it being just a decoration AND there is also more to it than just the classic pie or maybe occasional soup that we all can prepare... 

In the next couple of posts I will introduce you to some innovative fun pumpkin recipes: 

Roasted Pumpkinseeds

Baked Pumpkin Slices

Pumpkin Curry

Pumpkin (Cranberry ChocChip etc etc etc) Bread
Pumpkin Cream Soup

...and much much more... 

TRY them, LIKE them 

...and let me know what you think! :-) 

Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch... Infographic

Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch...

 In my previous post about the 'stomach-nerve' (as I call it :-)) I was writing about the fact, that when you start dieting, there is a cca. 2 week period during which your stomach and your brain need to get used to you eating less.
This period is hard - because your stomach still expects that amount of food that you used to eat before you started dieting... As a result, you will struggle with feeling hungry until your stomach gets used to the 'new rules' of the diet.

To help you and me out in getting through these 2 weeks of hell I put together a couple of tips about things we can do to sort of trick our brain into thinking that we are eating more than we actually are and getting it thus used to the actual amount of food that from now onwards will become the norm...

TIPS:

1) Still the thirst: 
Drink a big glass of water before every meal! This way your stomach-nerve can start working on sending the satiety signal to your brain before you even start eating. Anyway, we usually drink less than we should anyway, so adding one big glass before each meal will help manage hydration as well as appetite.

2) Start light: 
Many cultures have a custom of starting their meal with a salad or a light soup - that is very clever! While you eat your (low in calorie & big in amount) salad or soup, your tummy starts to send out those satiety-signals and once you get to the main course you will eat less of it, as you tummy would already be filled with your starter.  

3) Take it slow: 
Eat slower & chew more! :-) Other than making most of those 20 min. that you brain needs to recieve the satiety-signal; the benefits of slower eating are also that you start savoring the taste of your food more and it also improves digestion... 

4) Keep them clean: 
Brush your teeth after every meal. Besides it being good for your teeth, it's also good for preventing you to continue eating after you finished your meal. 

5) In between: 
Chew gum: but careful, it can get painful if it pulls out your filling... So an even better advice would be: Drink water!! You can 'spice' it up by creating your own 'spa water' drinks by adding cucumbers, mellon and lemon to the water or even slices of ginger or cinnamon (both these spices have an appetite-suppressant quality).

Loosing My Nerve...

WHY oh WHY is it so hard to diet!?!?
WHY oh WHY do I always feel like I am hungry?!?!
Does that happen to you too!?!?
It really gets on my nerves!!

Talking about NERVEs: Believe it or not, they are actually responsible for the struggles of feeling hungry or satiated... Did you know that!? I certainly didn't. How did I find out? My oh so clever and intelligent ♡ told me the other day thinking that telling me this scientific fact (with plenty of detail) it will be easier for me to carry on and not give up - talking about support, eh!? :-o
Believe it or not, it did make me think and because I was busy thinking (and researching and now writing this post) it did take my mind off food and made me somehow get over my need for food in that moment after all... Crisis overcome! PHEW!

Well, if it worked for me, maybe it will work for you too: so allow me to distract you with a couple of facts regarding our stomach-nerve (as I call it) :-)

So again: WHY oh WHY do I always feel like I am hungry (especially when I am trying to diet)?!?!

To feel satiety (a.k.a. full), your brain needs to receive neuronal signals from your stomach. This signal can also be influenced by other factors like our senses: if the food looks, smells, tastes too good ;-) 

Bottom line: it's a complex feedback mechanism that actually regulates the sensation of hunger or satiety. 

One of these feedback mechanisms is in the stretch-receptor nerves of your stomach-wall. What does that mean? Your stomach adapts to the amount of food you are eating. The stomach wall starts stretching when you start eating: the nerve stretch receptors send signals to the brain that the stomach is expanding and you can begin to slow down and stop eating. 

It takes some time though for these messages of satiety to 'travel' from your stomach and reach your brain. In general it takes about 20 minutes till you realize that you are starting to be full. That's why it makes sense to not just shovel your food into yourself but instead enjoy and savor each and every bite...  If you eat a roasted pig in 20 minutes or if you chew your way through a lovely salad in the same time... Well, let's just say that it's a HUGE difference: both in calories and nutrients!!!

Now when you are dieting - eating less - your stomach needs to get used (= habituated) to expand less: This takes time! Thats why: your stomach will not just shrink itself right after one smaller meal! The stomach-nerve (as I call it ;-)) needs some time to get used to only expanding a little compared to a lot from before...

It will take some time for your brain and for your 'stomach-nerve' to get used to this 'news' and if you resist your cravings and breaking the rules...
and give your brain and stomach a little bit of time (about two weeks)...
eventually you will be happy and satiated with your diet-portion and not crave or hunger for more.

So just remember this the next time you (or I for that matter - happens all the time to me too!!) oh so desperately want to eat more or snack in-between meals on unhealthy fatty snacks (you know you want to, so don't even try to deny it!!) or or or...
Remember that if you give your brain and stomach just two weeks - be a little patient with yourself!!! (if you won't, who will?!) - it won't be hard to be faithful to your diet anymore and you won't feel like you are constantly starving and hungry anymore but your brain will be filled with the happy feeling of satiety...

Recipe: Lemongrass-Ginger-Syrup

Ingredients:
1liter of water
1 organic lemon, lime or orange
cca. 5 slices of fresh ginger-root
cca. 5 strands of fresh lemongrass
3 cups of sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
2. In the meantime: Cut the citrus of your choice and the ginger into slices. Bundle your lemongrass-stems (it will be easier to remove them at the end if they are bundled).
3. Put everything into a pot and bring to a simmer.
4. Remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes.
5. Pour syrup through sieve into an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 1 month.
(Be sure to dilute the syrup with nice cold water and ice according to your taste :-))

Variation: If you leave out the sugar and reduce the ratios of lemongrass and ginger (otherwise it would be way to strong!) you can make a simple infusion. Once you let it simmer and cool down, serve with ice as a healthy sugar-free ice-tea for the summer.

Note: The ingredients are variable according to your taste: feel free to add more or reduce the amount of any of the ingredients based on your taste.

ENJOY!

PS: Checkout the Fact-Sheets of the ingredients of this recipe to find out about the nutritious value and the vitamins and minerals as well as the health benefits...