It's All Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus

“The farther we've gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we've come to need Halloween."-Paula Curan

I have always loved Halloween. I looked forward to it every year as a kid and I still love it.  I've always been drawn to the possibility of magic and mysticism, and on Halloween that is acceptable. Here's a bit of history for all of you that believe Halloween is a Hallmark created holiday: the Halloween that we all know and love is derived from the Celtic Festival of Samhain (sah-win). Samhain was traditionally a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the preparation for the harsh winter months. It was believed that on October 31st, the veil between the mortal realm and the spirit realm became thinnest and spirits could return to this plane an wreak havoc. Masks were worn to confuse spirits and bonfires were common to ward off evil. Many of the ways we currently celebrate the holiday harken back to the Celtic version of Samhain.

In addition to the historical part of the holiday, I also love candy, pumpkins, and dressing up. There is one thing though that I absolutely adore and cannot live without at Halloween. Hocus Pocus. It is mind boggling to me that the greatest Halloween movie of all time is 20 years old... I can't remember an October where I didn't watch Max Denison take on the Sanderson sisters. The older I get, the more I love the nostalgia the movie engenders and I enjoy spotting some of the more adult themes secreted in the film (the sketchy bus driver anyone? or anything Sarah says?) I'm almost 100% sure I first learned what a virgin was because of this movie. Anyways, Hocus Pocus is my Halloween movie and I decided tonight was the night to watch it.

After I got home from work I decided to get in the Halloween spirit by taking a walk and basking in all the gorgeous colors and changing leaves.

I am so lucky to live in a place this gorgeous. It makes it so much easier to believe in magic :) 

Once I got home from my walk, it was straight to the kitchen to make some Halloween cookies and muffins. 

Witches Hat Cookies

Witches Hat Cookies:

What you need:

• Hershey's Kisses (I used pumpkin pie spice and milk chocolate)

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tbs honey

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar

• 3 tbs egg whites

• 2 tbs milk

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

How to make:

• Preheat oven to 375

• Mix peanut butter and vegetable oil

• Add in both sugars and honey

• Add in egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix well.

• Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and add to peanut butter mixture

• Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet 

• Bake 8 to 10 minutes 

• Immediately press a kiss in the center of each cookie

• Let the cookies cool 

While I was baking these cookies, I decided it would be a sin to not bake something with pumpkin. Thus I whipped up a batch of pumpkin walnut chocolate chip muffins. To be perfectly honest, I stopped using a recipe about 1/4 of the way through, but the following is what I was originally going off of. 

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

What you need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbs cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup egg whites large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

How to make:

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin 
• Mix flour, spices, and baking soda in a large bowl
• In a separate bowl mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water

• Mix flour and pumpkin mixes together

• Add in chocolate chips and walnuts 

Perfect Halloween Colors

• Fill liners 3/4 with batter and cook 28 minutes

The only thing left was to pop open some pumpkin lager (which I don't really like, but it seemed necessary) and to light a bunch of fall spice candles and let the Witching Hour begin! 

Unfortunately, I dropped the ball a little bit this year in terms of a costume. Last weekend, my friends and I went as the Senior Girls from Dazed and Confused (which was a lot of fun since you get to haze everyone around you) but it doesn't take much to pull it together. We really didn't take any pictures, but It basically consisted of long-sleeve white shirts, cut-offs, and white socks. Tomorrow I'm going as a hippie, mostly because I already own a ton of boho inspired clothes and I can make it work appropriate really easily. The company I work for is all about dressing up for Halloween. We have a company Halloween party after work and a number of other parties to drop by after that. I am looking forward to celebrating All Hallows Eve with lots of tricks and maybe even a few treats. 

Stay safe tomorrow... don't light any candles (especially if you are a virgin) 

Cheers X 

Mediterranean Diet Inspiration

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well"-Virginia Woolf

I'm going to be honest with you all, today was a lazy day. I had leftovers for lunch and some of my produce is verging on over-ripening so I was intent on not wasting it. Basically I had to use avocado, peppers, onions, and tomatoes in everything I made. Luckily, all of those veggies are in line with my Mediterranean inspiration. 

Breakfast:

• Veggie Egg White Scramble
• What you need:
• egg whites
• spinach
• tomatoes
• onions
• avocado 
• bell peppers
• mozzarella cheese 
• How to make:
• Scramble everything together over medium heat 

• Greek Yogurt Parfait 
• 4 oz. Greek yogurt with 4 cup strawberries, 1 tbs pomegranate seeds, and 1 tsp. honey

Lunch:

• Leftovers from Mediterranean Spinach Shrimp Pasta

Dinner:

• Mediterranean Inspired Nachos
• What you need:
• tortilla chips
• cheese
• onions
• avocado
• tomato 
• bell peppers
• How to make:
• Melt cheese over chips with all the toppings

Cheers X

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”- Laurie Colwin

It is finally starting to cool down back East. There is a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to fall from the trees. The weather has been inspiring me to be super domestic and home cook most of my meals. When it is dreary and cold out (which I actually love) there is something very comforting about fresh baked goods and home cooked meals. 

The other day I found myself at work with a hankering for Panera's Broccoli Cheddar soup. I've been a fan of their version for a long time, but I didn't really want to go out to the nearest Panera. Instead I decided to try my hand at making my own Brocolli Cheddar from scratch. I found a couple different recipes and ended up combining a couple that I thought sounded best (and were the easiest to make without a full supply of cooking gear). I was absolutely thrilled with the end result. I think this version is excellent (and dare I say better than Paneras). 

What you need:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 pumpkin pie spice
• 2 russet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 3 large carrots shredded 
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

How to Make: 

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
• Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook until tender (5 minutes)

• Whisk in the flour and cook (4 minutes)

• Add the potatoes (1 min) then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth

• Add the chicken broth and pumpkin pie spice and simmer

• Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened (25 minutes)
• Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer (25 minutes)

• Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted (you can add water if the soup is too thick and add flour if it is too thin)

Enjoy!

I enjoyed mine with a giant loaf of crusty sourdough bread and it was perfect. I hope you like it!

Cheers X

Mediterranean Pizza

“First we eat. Then we do everything else”- MFK Fisher

I am not having the best of luck with the whole mobility thing…I strained my hip flexor a couple days after I got the all clear from my doctors about my broken bones. However, I’m so sick of being unable to do things (I’m going stir crazy) so being the incredibly intelligent woman that I am, I decided to do a ridiculous core workout with my roommate.

This was not smart.

I mean, the workout was great and I really need to get back in shape, but this was akin to just learning to swim and deciding the open sea in a hurricane is your best bet for practice. Basically, I am in a lot of pain. So when I got home from work, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the grocery store. My solution was to throw everything I had together and just see what happened. I was very happy with the end result. I ended up making a (relatively) healthy Mediterranean pizza.   

This recipe is based off of what I had, but this entire thing could be customized. You could use pesto or tomato sauce instead of olive oil or goat cheese or feta instead of mozzarella and cheddar. Honestly, the combinations are endless.

What you need:

• Extra-large tortilla
• Shredded cheese
• Onion
• Garlic
• Bell peppers
• Spinach
• Artichoke hearts
• Black olives
• Olive oil

How to make:

• Preheat your oven to 410 degrees
• Spoon a tablespoon of olive oil over your tortilla

• Sprinkle a layer of cheese over your tortilla

• Place spinach evenly throughout your pizza

• Cut up bell peppers, onions, and artichoke hearts and cover your pizza with them

• Crush garlic and season the pizza
• Sprinkle another fine layer of cheese
• Top with black olives and crushed red peppers
  
  
  
  

• Cook for 10 minutes

After cooking my pizza I decided I was done with standing around so I decided to eat mine in my bed. And it was fantastic.

Cheers X

Banana Nut Muffins

"I eat breakfast pretty much 'round the clock - muffins in the morning, scones for lunch, cereal at night - which may be odd but it is also satisfying, if only because the choice is my own"- Caroline Knapp

Today my roommate and I realized we both weren't eating our bananas quickly enough. Being newly employed, I am not trying to waste anything so ergo a need to make something with mashed bananas. Normally I make banana nut bread, but I don't have a bread pan yet so I decided to try my hand at muffins.

And they were awesome.

Bannana Nut Muffins
What you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 overripe bananas
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cups unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

How to make:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Combine flour and baking soda in a large bowl

• In another bowl mash 2 bananas with a fork

• Whip the other 2 bananas with the brown sugar

• Melt the butter and combine with the eggs and vanilla. Add to the brown sugar/banana mix.

• Mix in the dry ingredients and the mashed bananas
• Fold in the chocolate chips, nuts, and spices

• Bake for 20 minutes

nom nom nom

Cheers xx