Squash Cinnamon Rolls

Hello family!  Happy holidays to ya!

With advice from Mom, I recently adapted my old Squash Rolls recipe to be cinnamon rolls.  This New Years Eve, I utilized Heather's expertise to make them vegan.  I will include both ways in this post.  The pictures are of a double batch (as it was for the New Years Eve party for the Packards, Petersons, Waltons and us), so one batch makes half of what you see here.  For a small family like mine, you could half the recipe or make dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls at once.  I've made these twice now and they are delicious!!

Squash Rolls

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 TB yeast
• 6 cups flour (half whole wheat, half white)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk, scalded (coconut milk is fine)
• 1/2 cup oil or butter (shortening, butter, and canola oil are all fine)
• 1 1/2 cups cubed winter squash
• Butter, melted (or coconut oil)
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin pie spice (or others like nutmeg, cloves, allspice)

Boil and mash winter squash, set aside.  Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside. In bowl or mixer, combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt.  Add yeast mixture, butter, squash and milk.  Mix well.  Add remaining flour until correct consistency.  Knead.  Place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in volume (30-60 minutes).  Roll dough out into a long rectangle.  Pour butter over dough and rub to the edges.  Sprinkle heftily with brown sugar, and lightly with spices.  Rub to make smooth.  Roll dough into log and cut with knife or floss.  Place in greased baking pans and let rise for about 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until slightly browned.  Push down any centers that have risen too high.  Cool and spread frosting.

Cinnamon Roll Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened (or coconut oil, melted)
• 4oz cream cheese (omit for vegan)
• Vanilla
• Almond extract
• Powdered sugar

Blend with hand mixer until ratio tastes right to you.  Frost.

Eat and enjoy!

Great Grandma Hutchings' Steamed Carrot Pudding

Dad and I have been cleaning out our three file cabinets this week and I came across this recipe I thought would be fun to share.

Great Grandma Hutchings' Steamed Carrot Pudding

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 cup finely grated raw carrots
1 1/2 cup finely grated raw potatoes
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I think she used walnuts)
1 cup diced mixed candied fruits

Sift flour with sugar, soda, salt and spices.  Add grated carrots, potatoes and melted butter.  Mix well until all of the flour is moistened.  Stir in nuts and candied fruits.  Bake in a well greased and lightly floured pan, cover with foil if mold does not have lids.  Set in a deep kettle with boiling water to half the depth of the mold.

Cover kettle and steam in constantly boiling water for two hours until toothpicks inserted in pudding come out clean, add water as needed (to kettle for boiling).  Remove from kettle and let stand 15 min.  Serve hot with sauce.  Makes 10 - 12 servings

Creamy Sauce

1 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

That is all the instructions.  I have never made this, but remember tasting it.

Grandma Workman made one like this once that I remember and served it with a lemon sauce, I think.   Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!

Coconut-Cashew Rice

I really love this rice recipe.  I first tasted it at an international night in Relief Society.  After figuring out who made it I requested the recipe.  She posted it on our neighborhood Facebook page because so many people wanted the recipe, but I procrastinated getting it off there and then couldn't find it.  Fast forward a few months and she brought a double batch to our Relief Society rice night.  I again requested the recipe and finally made it for myself.  I don't know what took me so long.  It is FANTASTIC.  I made this for my Dad and Justin and they loved it.  Even the kids loved it.  Then I made it for Michelle and her kids and they liked it to.  It is worth a try!  I went to Winco to buy the specialty items I didn't have on hand: jasmine rice, golden raisins and cashews.  I forgot the cardamom which is probably a huge mistake, but it worked well with cinnamon and nutmeg. Really well.

Coconut-Cashew Rice

• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric [my friend uses curry powder instead]
• 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• 2 TB butter
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup raisins [okay, I heap my 1/4 cup]
• 1/4 cashews [heap this too]
• 1 tsp cardamom [1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp nutmeg is a good replacement]
• 1/3 cup coconut milk

Combine water, salt and turmeric in medium saucepan and bring to rapid boil.  Add rice, reduce heat to low and simmer 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed.  Meanwhile, melt butter in sauté pan and sauté onion 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Add raisins, cashews and cardamom and sauté 2 more minutes.  Stir in coconut milk and cook 2 more minutes.  When rice is ready, remove from heat and fluff with fork.  Stir in onion-raisin mixture.  Moisten with a few TB of coconut milk before serving, if desired.

Lamb Curry

This is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. We recently bought 1/2 a lamb, and it's not a ton of meat, but it's delicious meat, ripe for things like this curry. Lamb roasts are a little on the small side, and we only used one, but it would have been even better with double the meat. We served it over couscous and alongside Brussels sprouts. Did you know that Brussels sprouts with curry is a revelation? It is. This recipe is super easy, and deserve your attention some time soon as the weather cools to meat loving temperatures. I'm guessing it would be equally delicious with beef, but the lamb was special. Sometimes it's fun to feel special. 

Lamb Curry

Adapted from Simply Recipes

• 1 Lamb shoulder roast, although double would have been better
• 2 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp thyme, dry
• 2 peeled and chopped apples (tart green granny smith if possible), about 2 cups
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 8-12 small potatoes, quartered, about 1 1/2 pounds

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300° F. On stovetop, add the butter and oil to a large covered pot or Dutch oven and turn the burner to medium-high. Brown the meat well and remove it from pan.

2 Add curry powder to the ghee or oil, turn the heat down to medium and cook gently for a minute or two. Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Return lamb to pan.

3 Add coriander, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sliced lemon, apples, raisins, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check at 2 hours to see if the meat is falling off the bone. It should be starting to do so. Add the potatoes and cook for another 45 minutes.

4 To serve, you can pull the meat off the bones or leave it on. Taste for salt and add some more curry powder or cayenne if you want things spicier. Serve over rice with chutney and yogurt.

Vegan sausage

So I have been having a great time experimenting with different vegan recipes.  I have learned to make all sorts of fun and exciting new things.  The kids love it too.  This recipe is becoming a weekly staple.  We grilled it last week and enjoy it crumbled on pizza.  I even used it to make my pica dio.  It tastes just like a sausage, but way healthier.  Give it a try!

Sausage
1/2 cup pinto beans
1 cup cold vegetable broth
1 Tb olive oil
2 Tb soy sauce
2 gloves garlic grated or smashed
1 1/4 cups wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
1 tsp red pepper flakes (don't cut this down, it helps balance the flavor of the fennel)
1 tsp sweet paprika (I use regular because that is what I have)
1 tsp dried oregano

1. Get your steamer ready, and start bringing the water to a boil.
2. Have 6 sheets of tin foil ready.  (I think 6" ish wide)  In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork until no whole ones are left.  Throw all the other ingredients together in order listed and mix with a fork. (Often I just mix it at the end with my hands.)  Divide dough into 6 even parts, (I just pinch it off 1 at a time.  Also, if you want it for crumbled sausage, you can make them bigger.)  Place one part of the dough long way onto the tin foil and mold and stretch to desired length.  Don't stress about the shape, they snap into shape while steaming.  Wrap dough in foil like a tootsie roll, pinching off and twisting the ends.
3.  Place in a steamer and steam on mediumish heat for 45 minutes.  (I put my stove at 6)

I always double these and stretch it to make 14.  We love them!

Zucchini Pancakes

Justin spotted these pancakes on smitten kitchen and I couldn't get them out of my head.  We've served them several times as a wonderful way to use up zucchini and realized the trick is to use the small grate side of our cheese grater to shred the zucchini.  That way no strings protrude after each bite (which cause Jaime to complain and refuse to eat the meal).  I also learned to drain the majority of the liquid out of the shredded zucchini so that the pancakes don't stay gooey.  I prefer to spread out the pancake batter on the skillet so they are thinner and easier to cook all the way through, and Justin prefers to dump and cook in favor of thicker ones.  We are having them again tonight for dinner.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Pancakes

2 eggs

3 TB olive oil

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 cup buttermilk (or 2TB milk 2TB yogurt)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp table salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Combine wet (with the addition of the brown sugar) and dry ingredients separately, then combine.  Fold in zucchini.  Cook on heated, buttered skillet.  Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

It's time I give in and spill my guts about how amazing this Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe is from Blendtec.  Oh wait, I already did that on the my blog...  The real news is that I've discovered it's a versatile crowd pleaser, even for kids!  And it's 100% healthy.  For kids!  Healthy!  Okay, so are mine the only ones that hate vegetables?

Yesterday I put it to the test.  In honor of our electricity bill, I left the oven off and cooked the ingredients in the crockpot.  All was smelling and tasting great.  Then I pushed the limits by adding half of a large zucchini (I would guess I added about 2 lbs) and two carrots.  When all of the vegetables got soft I blended it all and returned it to the crockpot.  Even more daring, I decided to cook the pasta in the sauce so that it soaked up flavorful vegetable juices.  I think I added a little over a pound of broken up whole wheat spaghetti, but it could have used more.  I stretched this recipe far.  Turns out it can cope.  Both of my children gobbled it up.  These, the children that don't eat vegetables.  Jaime ate two and a half bowls of the stuff and Vida couldn't get each tiny fist full of noodles shoved into her little mouth fast enough.  True story.  Justin and I loved it too.  It's not very often that we have this big of a success for our entire family on both fronts - health and satisfaction.  That's why I'm sharing this today.  It also happens to be a fantastic recipe for enjoying a plentiful garden.  Enjoy.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

• 2lbs of tomatoes, quartered
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• [2 lbs seeded and chopped zucchini]
• [2 large carrots, shredded]
• 8 cloves garlic [I used pre-minced]
• 3 TB olive oil
• 2 TB fresh oregano [I use 1 TB dried]
• 1 tsp salt
• [parmesan or feta cheese as at-table garnishes]

Toss all ingredients in a glass baking dish.  Roast for 1 hour at 375 degrees and remove from oven.  Let cool slightly, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.

[Alternative: Place all ingredients in large crockpot and cook on high for 6 hours, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to blender and blend until smooth.]