Saturday night we hosted a blind tasting of nine different pumpkin beers. I chose the beers out of our stock of 16 pumpkin beers and created the score cards as well as decided to make a game out of it. The person who correctly identified the most beers by name and brewery (Neil excluded) won a bottle of Switchback, a local brewery who just started bottling their beer.
To go along with the beer we asked our guests to bring something to share. Laura brought baguette and pumpkin seed oil (to go with the theme) as well as chips and guacamole. Taylor and Emily brought a delicious harvest salad filled with Brussels sprouts, beets and walnuts and I made the main dish a butternut squash soup. Everything was so delicious and the perfect pairing to the pumpkin beers.
Pumpkin Beer Ratings (based on the average of all 5 of our ratings):
Long Trail Imperial Pumpkin 4.4/5
Southern Tier Pumpking 4.35/5
Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale 3.9/5
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale 3.6/5
Wachusett Imperial Pumpkin 3.5/5
Harpoon UFO Pumpkin 2.9/5
Saranac Pumpkin Ale 2.9/5
Gritty’s Halloween 2.55/5
Long Trail Pumpkin Ale 1.6/5
Winner of the most correct answers was Laura with 3/9!
Q: What is your favoritej pumpkin beer? My favorites so far are Six Point Autumnation, Sam Adams Fat Jack and Wachusett Imperial Pumpkin Ale.
This recipe came out of the need to use up a bunch of carrots from our CSA. Neither my husband nor I are huge carrot fans and only enjoy them juiced or cut up and dipped in hummus. That being said I decided to play off the flavors of hummus and made a delicious roasted veggie medley with a nutty tahini sauce. This is a great dish to make for an upcoming holiday party!
Serves 4
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups carrots, chopped and peeled
1 large yellow onion, diced
Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the tahini, lemon juice, green onions, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the s blade and process on low for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the olive oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Toss the tahini sauce with the chopped veggies and pour into a 9″ x 13″ Stainless Steel Bake & Roast Pan. Place in the preheated oven to roast for 30-35 minutes or until veggies are tender. Serve with your favorite protein, a green salad and a whole grain for a balanced meal.
I don’t know about you but I am crazy for cornbread and honestly I don’t make it enough! I love to make my cornbread more on the savory side and love to add corn kernels to it as well as a little spice. This time I decided to make it even more special by adding vegan cheese and green onions and served it along side my Chipotle Butternut Squash Chili.
4oz Earth Balance, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
1 cup Cheddar Dayia, grated
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cast iron pan.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, flax egg, and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just to combine. Fold in the Mix in the Dayia, the scallions, jalapenos and the corn.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into 8 triangles. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I am a huge fan of chili and as soon as the air is crisp you better believe there is a pot (or two) of chili cooking up in my kitchen. That being said I have a few favorite recipes that I have perfected over the years but I am always working on altering them a bit and creating new ones. This recipe is similar to ones that I have made before however this time I added bulgur and aduzki beans (I would have normally made it with black beans but they are on my can’t eat list right now do to breastfeeding). This was as hit with both my husband and our friend Laura and is easily now one of my favorite chili recipes.
15 oz can adzuki or black beans, drained and rinsed.
1/2 cup bulgur
2 cups vegetable broth
Preheat oven to 400F. Toss squash with olive oil, spread on sheet pan and place in the oven to roast for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in medium heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and pepper; cook until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Stir in chili powders, cumin, and Italian seasoning. Stir in tomatoes with juice and beans. Add bulgur and broth. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Stir squash into chili. Simmer covered over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Life has been pretty crazy around here between traveling to Montreal, Neil’s busy work schedule, visiting family, baby yoga with E and trying to work. We also just ended our CSA this past week and now I’m trying to make the transition back to shopping on the weekend instead of in the middle of the week. Well this weekend I did a horrible job and today we ended up with beets, onions and sprouts (not the best combo, eh?). So it was off to the market after picking Neil up from work, which means our day just got longer.
By the time we got the market I knew I would have to pick up something quick and healthy for us to eat for dinner because as soon as we got home we would need to start our bedtime routine. E had been fussy all day I anticipated it would take longer than usual to get her to bed (and I was right) so I needed something quick. I decided that I wanted to make a dish with Green GiantSeasoned Steamers Brussels Sprouts with Sea Salt & Black Pepper. They are quick, easy, healthy and I love Brussels Sprouts.
I was inspired by the sea salt and black pepper seasoning on the Brussels Sprouts and decided to make an Asian inspired salt and pepper tofu dish with Brussels Sprouts and I threw some onions and mushrooms into the mix just to bulk up the dish. I served it over quinoa and overall it only took about 20 minutes to throw it all together and it was delicious!
Salt and Pepper Tofu with Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4
14oz extra firm tofu, drain, pat dry and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons coconut oil, divided (you can use canola oil as well)
4 servings of your favorite grain (brown rice, quinoa, soba noodles, ect)
Directions
Steam the Brussels Sprouts for 3 minutes according the packages directions and then slice in half; set aside. In a medium bowl toss together the cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add the tofu to the mixture and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (preferably a cast iron pan). Add the tofu to the skillet and cook until browned, 7-10 minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and then add the onions and mushrooms, cook for two minutes. Stir in the rice wine, scrapping up the bits from the bottom of the pan, cook for a minute. Add the Brussels Sprouts and garlic to the pan and stir to combine. Add the soy sauce and sambal olek; stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tofu back to the pan and stir to combine. Serve over your favorite whole grain.
Neil and I both loved the dish and Neil couldn’t stop talking about how we needed to get more of the Brussels Sprouts to have on hand for dinner.
Seasoned Steamers™, a new line of Green Giant® vegetables, gives you unexpectedly delicious taste in every vegetable bite. These chef-inspired, seasoned vegetables come in six new varieties ranging from smoky roasted cues to ethnic inspired flavors. By roasting, seasoning and freezing individual pieces, our vegetables lock in flavor so delicious, your family will ask for more. In less than 8 minutes, your family can enjoy new Seasoned to Delicious™ Seasoned Steamers™.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by General Mills via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of General Mills.
Remember a few weeks ago I posted about my project to get off the couch well things have been going really well. I have done a ton of walking, have gotten out for a few runs (!!!!) and have been spending more time on my feet when I am home. It still is a bit of a challenge like this past Saturday when E nursed pretty much from 1pm-7pm with only a few breaks, but I am happy to say that day I did get out for a short walk with the Hubz and E.
Now to really get myself back in the workout mode I am participating round 3 of Best Body Boot Camp! I am do excited to get started and get back in shape. Every two weeks we are given a workout plan of five workouts for each week. The workouts are about an hour long and consist of three strength days and two cardio days. Tina also includes suggestions for limited training time which is great for me because as much as I’d love and hour to workout every day and it is what I strive for most days are limited to 30-45minutes.
Tuesday I started with workout A and holy crap was it killer, especially for me since I have been doing a lot of walking, some running and very little strength training. I made it through all three sets of the workout though with E hanging out on her playmat grabbing and batting at the birds. I have to say I altered a few of the moves such as scorpion with ball (husband tried it with the ball and had a hard time because our balls are about 50% bigger than the one in the video).
Instead I did this version of scorpion which was still killer.
[image source]
Overall things are going really well with being more active and on my feet during the day. I know it’s early but I am really loving BBB and love how motivating it is; who else is participating?
On the agenda for today is Workout B which will involve a little alteration because I don’t have access to a bosu ball but I guarantee it will still be a challenge.
There are many days I find myself stuck on the couch with a baby on my boob making it a challenge for me to make a meal. I never understood how woman said that they forgot meals when they became moms but now I can understand. I don’t ever forget a meal but at times I find it a challenge to make a meal with such a wonderful but demanding baby. That being said I have been turning to quick, easy and healthy snacks that I can keep by the couch and in the pantry for when I need to grab something to eat but don’t have the time to make a meal.
Lately I have been enjoying Taste of Nature Bars which I first tried in my Harry & David snack tote and then again at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. I have sampled a variety of flavors and they are all wonderful. I love that these bars are 100% Organic, Certified Kosher, Certified Vegan, Low Sodium, Source of fiber, Source of Omega-3, Source of Energy,and Non GMO, source of antioxidants. They are also low on the glycemic index and are made with brown rice syrup and agave.
I enjoyed all of the flavors but the best one is the Canadian Maple Forest.
Giveaway: One lucky winner will receive a box of Persian Pomegranate Garden bars. (USA and Canada only). Giveaway closes 10/24 at 8pm
Winner:
Mandatory: Visit the Taste of Nature site and leave comment with which flavor you’d like to try most.
Optional: Tweet about this giveaway and come back and leave a comment saying you did so, oh and don’t forget to direct your tweet at me @runwithtongs
Disclaimer: Taste of Nature Bars provided me with their product at no cost. I was under no obligation to review them if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a giveaway. All opinions are my own.
