‘Tis the sesason for everything pumpkin…and pumpkin pie spice!

I don’t know about you, but my little spice jars seems to empty out way too soon around the holidays.  But not to fear!!!  Making pumpkin pie spice “homemade” is ridiculously easy.  Just measure out five spices and combine.  The end.  :)

The other nice thing is that its name is completely misleading.  Well, you can make a fabulous pumpkin pie with it.  But this spice combination is perfect for many other uses!  From oatmeal (and oatmeal cookies!), to pumpkin seeds, to soups, to lattes, to pancakes, to roasted vegetables, to popcorn, and even to mixing it into your whipped cream, this spice can go way beyond its namesake.  It also makes a great Christmas present for foodies.

So whip up a batch for the holiday season, and have fun experimenting with it as well!

How To: Make Pumpkin Pie Spice

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 4 tsp. ground nutmeg**
• 2 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 tsp. ground cloves

Method:

In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients until well-blended.  Store in an air-tight jar.

Ali’s Tip:

**If using freshly grated nutmeg, you might add slightly less as the flavor can be more intense.

What to do with leftover cake, brownies, cookies, fruit, or candy bars?

Make a trifle!

Seriously, trifles are a baker’s best-kept secret.  They are easy, fast, delicious, and they a great way to use up any of your sweet leftovers.  Just chop/tear/cut your main ingredient into bite-sized pieces, and then layer it in a trifle dish (or multiple smaller trifle dishes or glasses) with other complementary ingredients, and voila!  Trifles are so simple, and I guarantee that your friends and family will have no idea this might be your starring dessert’s second appearance.  ;)

For the trifle pictured above, I layered angel food cake, fresh fruit (pineapple, peaches and strawberries) and bourbon whipped cream.  Read on for more trifle tips and ingredient suggestions.  And then would love to hear — what are your favorite trifle combinations?

(See recipe for Twix Trifles)

How To Make An Easy Trifle:

Ingredient Ideas (To Mix & Match):

• baked dessert (ex. cakes, brownies, cookies, bars, etc.)
• candy bars
• marshmallows
• fruit
• whipped cream
• frosting
• sauce (caramel, hot fudge, etc.)
• fruit curd (lemon curd, lime curd, etc.)
• sprinkles

Method:

Cut, chop or tear desired ingredients into bite-sized pieces.  Then, in a large trifle dish (or smaller trifle dishes or glasses), make even layers with the ingredients in the order you choose.  Garnish as desired.

Ali’s Tip:

Try to aim for a good mix of textures as well as flavors.  I generally aim to have a main ingredient (such as cake or brownies), some sort of fruit or candy to accent, and then a whipped cream and/or sauce to tie it together.

Leftover bread?

Make croutons!!!

Seriously — homemade croutons are super-easy to make, and they are  oh-so-tastier than anything you buy at the store.  You also don’t have to worry about preservatives or suspicious-sounding ingredients.  But the best part is that you get to choose your own breads, oils and seasonings!

I’ve included a bunch of ingredient ideas and variations on the recipe below.  But the bottom line is that this is a total “method” — just use whatever ingredients you have on hand.  Your salads, stuffings, and soups will thank you.  :)

The "Before"...

How To Make Homemade Croutons

Ingredients:

• loaf of quality bread (preferably a day or two old), cut into about 1-inch cubes
• about 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• seasonings (optional – see tip below)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, evenly drizzle or spray olive oil over the bread.  Toss until well mixed, and the bread is evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper, and additional seasonings (if desired).  Toss once more until seasonings are evenly distributed.

Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden, turning to brown all sides.  Cooking time will depend on the thickeness of the cubes, so watch that they do not burn.  (Mine generally take between 15-20 minutes.)  Remove from oven, and let cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container.  Use within one week, or freeze for up to 6 months.

Variations:

• Season using a salad dressing instead of oil and herbs
• Ground up the croutons once baked to make toasted breadcrumbs
• Bake in a toaster oven
• Use different kinds of bread (sourdough, rye, etc…or even sandwich bread)
• Use different kinds of dried seasonings.  Some of my favorites are…
  • Italian seasonings (thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, basil, etc.)
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder

Ali’s Tip:

I prefer to use a sprayer (I have a Misto) to coat these with oil.  It allows you to use a little less oil, but spreads more evenly than drizzling.

The "After"

Ok, some of you longtime readers know that I like to craft as much as I like to cook.  So thought I’d share a random idea I had for easy placeholders (or food labels!) for my annual Christmas party this past weekend!

Call me Martha, but I always love making little labels for the various dishes I make whenever I host anything buffet-style.  Since I happened to have a few gumdrops leftover (from making a wreath similar to this cute one), I thought it would be fun to put them to use for some Christmas-themed placeholders!

So behold, my little creation was born.  All in all they took about 10 minutes to make, used only two ingredients and a handful of common supplies, and were commented on again and again by all of my friends!  So thought I’d at least offer a quick “how-to” on here for anyone else who might be looking for a fun and very inexpensive project for your holiday parties.  Enjoy!

How To Make Gumdrop Placeholders

Supplies:

• gumdrops
• cardstock paper (either plain, or look in the scrapbook aisle for fun colors)
• scissors or papercutter
• pen/marker
• a sharp, thin knife

Method:

Begin by cutting your paper to your preferred size/shape.  (I used a papercutter to cut mine into 1″ x 2.5″ rectangles.)  Write your messages on the individual pieces of paper, leaving a little room for the gumdrop at the bottom.

To prepare the gumdrops, use a sharp knife to carefully cut about halfway through the gumdrop, beginning at the top.  If you would like your papers to slant slightly back (for easier viewing from above), make the cuts at a slight angle towards you.

Then grip a piece of paper on both sides (with both hands) and carefully slide it into the gumdrop.  Repeat for as many as you’d like to make.

Ali’s Tip:

Another simple step would be to use a punch of your desired shape on one side of the paper.  Or to use a punch to cut the 4 corners of each paper into a cute border/shape.

I’m pretty sure I could live on sushi.  Seriously.  Love-love-LOVE it!  :-)

But as much as I enjoy hitting up our local sushi happy hours with friends, the sushi love is not always the easiest on the budget.  :S  So this year, I’ve made it my goal to learn to make really good sushi at home.  And I’m happy to say – mission accomplished!!!

Now before you raise those skeptical eyebrows, hear me out.  It it way simpler than you think!  Granted, it takes a little time to prep the ingredients.  (But this goes way faster if you have an extra set of hands!)  And if you’re wanting to use raw fish, it’s essential that you pay a few extra dollars to be sure that it’s “sushi-grade”.  But the assembly process is totally easy, and you can have the flexibility of mixing and matching whatever ingredients you love!!  AND…the final cost is considerably more affordable than eating out.  Cheers to that.

So if you’ve never tried making sushi at home, grab some friends, your chopsticks, your favorite ingredients, and really — give it a go!!!  I think you’ll be completely surprised at how much fun, and just how completely delicious (and addictive!) sushi can be homemade!  :-)

How To Make Sushi

Ingredients (to make approximately 3 rolls):

Wrapper/Rice/Seasoning:

• 1 package nori (seaweed)
• 2 cups Jasmine “sushi” (short-grain) rice
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Filling:

• 1/2 lb. sushi-grade fish (salmon, tuna, crab, etc.)
• thinly sliced vegetables (I used avocado, red pepper, cucumbers, carrots and green onions)
• thinly sliced cream cheese (optional)

Spicy Mayo Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. mayonaisse
• 2 Tbsp. Sriracha

Dipping (optional):

• soy sauce
• wasabi
• pickled ginger (served on the side)

Equipment:

• rice cooker
• bamboo mat
• plastic wrap (Saran wrap)
• small bowl of water (about 1 cup) mixed with 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Method:

The key to a fun sushi-making experience is to prep, prep, prep all of your ingredients beforehand, so that you can have fun assembling.

Rice: Rinse and drain the rice under cold water a few times until the water is no longer milky.  Then cook the rice according to your rice cooker’s instructions.  (You can also cook it in a saucepan on the stove, but it’s really difficult to have it not get super clumpy.)

While it cooks, prepare the rice seasoning mixture.  In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Once the rice is cooked, remove it from the rice cooker and spread it out in a pan (or cookie sheet, or whatever works), and sprinkle with the rice seasoning mixture.  Then cover it with a damp towel and let it cool until the rice is room-temperature.  (You can pop it in the fridge to speed this up.)

Filling: The filling is the fun part!  Choose whatever filling ingredients you’d like, and just basically cut everything into long, small strips.  (When cutting filets of meat or seafood, just be sure to cut against the grain.)

Spicy Sauce: This is optional, but adds great flavor to any sushi.  Just whisk together the mayo and Sriracha together in a small bowl until combined.

Dipping Sauce: Combine soy sauce, and then whisk in (or use your chopsticks to blend in) as much or as little wasabi as you’d like.  (Always start with less and add more, if you’ve never used wasabi!)

Bamboo Mat: Finally, prepare your bamboo mat.  (You can either use little sushi mats, or just get a large bamboo placemat – I found mine at Dollar Tree.)  Basically, you just need to completely wrap it in plastic (Saran) wrap.  I usually do two layers, just so it doesn’t accidentally come off, but make it happen however you’d like.  This helps the rice not stick to the mat during the assembly/rolling process.

Assembly: My favorite part!  For sushi rolls, you can either make them with the rice on the inside (considerably easier) or on the outside.

To begin, lay out a piece of nori on your plastic-wrapped bamboo mat.  Then have your bowl with water and rice vinegar sitting nearby.  Dip your fingers in the water/vinegar mixture (this helps the rice not stick to your fingers), and then pick up a small handful of rice and gently press it onto the nori.  The goal is to spread out the rice so that it’s uniformly thin (or if you like a lot of rice, you can make it fairly thick), and that it extends clear to the edges of the nori.  (Although then if you’re making rolls with rice on the inside, be sure to leave an extra centimeter on the bottom edge of the nori uncovered, so that you can seal the roll at the end.)

(I recommend dipping your fingers in the water/vinegar mixture constantly, to be sure that the rice sticks to the nori and not your fingers!)

For rolls with rice on the inside:  Go ahead and layer your sliced filling ingredients (along with some spicy sauce if you’d like) along the top of the nori, on top of the rice.  Try to lay out the ingredients as close together as possible.

For rolls with rice on the outside: Carefully flip over the rice/nori sheet, and gently press down to compress the rice.  Then layer the sliced filling ingredients at the top of the nori as mentioned above.

Then it’s time to rock and roll! :-)

The idea is to use your bamboo mat to help roll the sushi tightly, rather than just picking up the nori to roll it with your fingers.  So very carefully, lift up the mat underneath the top of the nori (where your filling is), and begin to roll it over — making sure that the initial edge gets tucked under before rolling out the entire thing.  Again, the goal is to try and roll it as tightly and evenly as possible.  If you need to back up and re-roll to make it a little tighter, go for it!

Once you finish, I generally give the sushi a few more gentle rolls with the bamboo mat to make sure it’s nice and evenly-round.  (And if you’re doing rolls with rice on the inside, just add a little water to the uncovered nari in order to seal the roll.) You can then sprinkle some sesame seeds on the outside of the roll (if rice is on the outside), and then give it another roll with the bamboo mat to seal them on.

Then take a (very sharp!) knife, and begin to cut the rolls into your desired thickness of bites.  Since the rice often sticks to the knife, I like to have a wet towel nearby to wipe off the knife blade after every 1-2 cuts.  (It’s better to refrigerate the rolls for 10 minutes before cutting them into bites, so that the ingredients can “set”.  But if you’re impatient like me, you can go ahead and dive in!)

Repeat to make as many rolls as you’d like.  Then serve the rolls laid out next to your dipping sauce, and some ginger if you’d like!

Ali’s Tip:

If your rolls aren’t tight enough, you may have added too much filling.  Or, you likely didn’t get the initial roll (where you tuck the edge under) tight enough.  Don’t be afraid to re-roll to get it your desired level of compactness.  :-)

But either way…it still tastes good!

Also, if you are using ANY sort of raw fish or meat, be absolutely sure that you buy it at a “sushi-grade” level of freshness.  The staff at your meat counter can help you with this.  Then be sure to keep it refrigerated except when you’re actually rolling the rolls, and serving the sushi.

Mangoes are hands-down my favorite fruit.  But I have to admit — for many years, I had absolutely NO idea how to (safely and beautifully!) peel and cut them.

The story was always the same.  I would bring a mango home, super-excited to enjoy that unique, wonderfully sweet flavor.  But after just a few seconds of cutting, I would have my hands completely covered and dripping with mango juice, trying desperately to hold onto a slippery-slidy mango pulp, and not slip and cut my fingers instead of the pulp!

Needless to say…I needed an intervention.  :)

Thankfully, a few years ago, a friend graciously gave me this lesson.  So for anyone else who’s in that boat, I thought I’d make a quick tutorial to humbly pass along to you.  I’ve also included some info on how to select a ripe mango, or ripen one at home.

Bottom line…cutting a mango correctly was much easier than I knew.  And 100% worth it.  So give it a try!!!

How To Select A Ripe Mango:

Often in stores now, you can find perfectly ripe mangoes that are instantly ready to eat.  Still, much of the time (at least where I live – in the Midwest), you have to bring them home to ripen for a few days before they’re ready to go.

But regardless if you’re choosing them at the store, or waiting for them to ripen at home, here are some general qualities to look for in a ripe mango:

• Smell: If you sniff around the stem, ripe mangoes will smell very sweet and fragrant.  Avoid mangoes with any sort of alcoholic or sour smell, as these could be over-ripe.
• Touch: Ripe mangoes will not be rock-solid, but rather, will give slightly when pressed with your fingers.  Avoid mangoes that are too mushy, or mangoes whose skin has begun to wrinkle, as these could be over-ripe.
• Shape: Choose mangoes that are slightly more round (football-shaped) than flat.  It’s also a good sign if the mango is full and plump around the stem.
• Color: Definitely don’t judge a mango completely by its color!  Mangoes come in so many color variations.

How To Ripen A Mango:

If you do bring home a mango that’s slightly firmer to the touch, and not quite ready to go — ripening is easy!  Just leave the mango out at room temperature until it has the signs of ripeness mentioned above.  OR, to speed up the process, let the mango ripen (also at room temperature) inside a paper bag.

How To Peel & Dice A Mango:

Mangoes all have large, long, flat pits that extend from the stem all the way to the base.  So your first objective is to cut around that.

With one hand, hold the mango on a cutting board so that the stem is facing away from you, and the flat sides are pointing sideways.  With a sharp knife, carefully make a cut parallel to one of the flat sides – just far enough from the middle (usually about 1/2″) so that you don’t cut through the pit.  Turn the mango around, and repeat on the other side.  You should now have two mango halves, along with the middle section with the pit (surrounded by a ring of pulp).

Take one of the halves and turn it so that its skin is facing down.  With a paring knife, gently begin scoring the pulp into the size of cubes that you would like.  Be careful not to cut through the skin (but it’s definitely not the end of the world if you do!).

When you’re finished, place your thumbs on the skin of that half and press in so that it flips kind of inside-out and all of the mango cubes are raised.  Then with your paring knife, cut along the peel so that the cubes of pulp are released and ready to go.  Discard skin.  Repeat this with the other half.

If you’d like, there’s usually a little pulp left in the middle section (with the pit) as well.  To dice this, first use your paring knife to carefully cut away the peel of the mango.  Then make another long cut down the middle of this section along the pit, so that you end up with two small strips of pulp.  Dice these strips, and then discard the pulp.

Ali’s Tip:

If you end up cutting into a mango that’s too mushy or stringy for dicing, I’d recommend pureeing it, or popping it in a smoothie….or just scooping it out of the peel with a spoon and eating it plain!

I’m always a little surprised at how impressed people seem when I make homemade whipped cream to go on a dessert, or crepes, or whatever the occasion may be.  Mainly because….it really is SO easy!!  I love whipping it up because the texture and taste are miles above the Cool Whip or whatever you can buy at the store.  And actually, the carton of cream it takes to make it is usually cheaper than the pre-made stuff – go figure!

So for anyone who has never tried making homemade whipped cream, here’s a quick how-to.  Grab your mixer (or your trusty whisk), a carton of cream, a teaspoon or two of sugar and vanilla…and in 5 minutes, you can be enjoying your own fresh, homemade whipped cream.  YUM.

Enjoy!!!

How To: Make Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 Tbsp. granulated or powdered sugar (add more/less to taste)

Optional mix-ins (choose one):

• 1-2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp. almond extract
• 1-2 tsp. bourbon
• or other favorite extract or liqueur

Method:

Chill your mixing bowl and beaters by placing them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using.  (A whisk attachment is preferable, but normal beaters work well too.)

When ready, remove the bowl and beaters and pour in the cream and sugar.  Using a mixer, begin by beating the cream on low speed for about 30 seconds (otherwise you’ll get splashed!).  Then increase speed to high, continuing to beat until soft peaks form.

(The cream will go through a few stages!  First it will be totally liquid, then covered in a zillion bubbles – as pictured below.  Then finally it will begin to stiffen until soft peaks form.  You can test this by just lifting the beaters up out of the cream.  If the resulting peak has a top that bends over slightly, you’ve got it!)

At this point feel free to briefly beat in an extra teaspoon or two of flavoring (vanilla extract, etc.), just until mixed through.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving.

1 cup of cream yields approximately 2 cups of whipped cream.

Ali’s Tip:

Of course whipped cream can also be made without a mixer.  Just follow the same steps (still chilling your bowl and the whisk before mixing), and just use a whisk to beat the cream until it reaches the soft peaks stage.

And hey – you’ll burn off a few more of those cream calories in the process!  ;)

If you….

1. Love recipes that only take about 3 minutes of total prep time…
2. Love all things coconut
3. Don’t love all things coconut (like me…but I love this milk!)
4. Love milk
5. But maybe don’t like or can’t drink regular milk for various reasons
6. Are a Vegan
7. Don’t like paying for overpriced coconut milk in the stores
8. Like being able to control the type/amount of sweetener in your coconut milk
9. Have yet to ever experience the sweet, creamy, rich goodness of coconut milk…….

Then this recipe is for you!!!!!

Truly, it’s so fast, and so simple, so cheap, and so delicious that there’s no reason NOT to try it.  :)  It’s full of great nutrients, and can be used a zillion ways.  (I’ve included a short list below of some possible uses, both in and out of the kitchen.)  So grab a bag of coconut, and give it a try!  I really think you’ll love it!

How To: Make Coconut Milk
(Adapted from Elana’s Pantry)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 cups water
• 1 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar (or 6 drops stevia)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Soak coconut in water for 1-2 hours (do not discard water).

In a blender (or you could do small batches in a food processor), combine coconut, water, vanilla and honey and process on highest speed.

Strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer (or a strainer bag, or cheesecloth would work), discarding solids.  Serve or refrigerate.

Possible Uses:

• Baking: can be used as a substitute for milk in a variety of baking recipes
• Beverages: coffee, tea, smoothies, milkshakes, eggnog, pina coladas, or a variety of alcoholic beverages
• Cooking: used in noodle dishes, rice dishes, grain dishes, stir-frys, etc., and it is called for especially in many Thai, Indian, African and Hawaiian dishes
• Skin Care: used as a moisturizing face wash, mixed into water for a bubble bath, or even used as a hair conditioner

Ali’s Tip:

This also works with sweetened coconut.  Just omit the extra natural sweetener (honey, agave, stevia, etc.).

It’s finally pomegranate season again!  Hallelujah!!!

One of my pomegranate-obsessed coworkers and I have been anxiously waiting and watching the stores for their arrival this fall.  And…just about jumped for joy when they finally arrived.  :)  I absolutely love pomegranates!  Not only are they ridiculously rich in vitamins and nutrients, but I think the seeds just look like little miraculous, little, sparkling jewels.  Lovely!

Of course, these little gems – 840 per fruit, to be exact – literally are “buried” treasure inside of the thick, outer peel.  Unfortunately, I still hear so many stories of people trying to de-seed pomegranates and ending up with red-stained everything before they’re done – eeks!!  So here’s a quick tutorial on how to peel pomegranates “gimmesomeoven style”.  :)

Basically, it’s all about one word: underwater. Everything underwater.

How To: Open and De-Seed a Pomegranate

Wash the outside of the pomegranate thoroughly.  (Important since the outer skin will eventually be underwater with the pomegranate seeds.)

Then on a plastic cutting board (look out – pomegranate juice will stain wood), hold the pomegranate upright and use a large sharp kitchen knife carefully make a vertical cut down the middle to split it in two.  Then carefully make one more vertical cut about 1″ down each piece, so that they are ready to be split in two again.  Place these pieces in a large bowl, and fill with water so that they are completely submerged.

Then with your hands, begin at the 1″ cut and carefully pry each piece in half so that you are now working with four pieces.  Now the fun begins!

Using your fingers, carefully begin to separate the seeds from the rind.  Once visible seeds have been separated, you will need to continue gently prying the rind apart to reveal more sections of seeds.  You’ll notice that the seeds quickly sink, and the rind floats.  Once all of the seeds have been separated, remove the floating pieces of rind.  And then use your fingers to once more brush over all of the seeds that are sitting on the bottom to remove any tiny pieces of rind that are still stuck to individual seeds.  Remove this rind.

Then strain out the water, and your seeds are ready to go!  They can be eaten immediately, blended and strained to make juice, or frozen.  (If you choose to freeze them, just be sure that they are completely dry beforehand!)

Ali’s Tip: Please, please be sure to wear an apron or an old shirt or something splatter-able when de-seeding a pomegranate!  Even with the underwater method, occasionally that delicious red juice can spurt out accidentally at any step in the process…or while actually eating them later.  :)  Also keep an eye on floors or rugs nearby in case any seeds somehow escape and fall to the ground.  They’re not exactly carpet (or in the case of my kitchen – white tile) friendly!

Mmmm…butternut squash.

Even the name just sounds delicious.  Well, the butternut part that is.  :)  Still think it’s a tragedy that this beautiful fruit variety has to share its name with a raquetball sport, and the method I use for bidding adios to spiders!  (Way to write an appetizing post….yes?)

Still, I’m crazy about butternut squash and always look forward to its arrival at the farmers’ market each autumn.  Its deep, sweet, nutty flavor always brings so much richness to a dish, and I tend to get a little too excited about the gorgeous color it adds as well!  Love roasting it, adding it to pastas or salads, pureeing it into soups and sauces, or whatever other creative recipes I may find.

Since butternut squash can be somewhat difficult to break into, though, thought I’d pop in a quick post on my favorite way to safely peel, seed and cut them.  Hope this is helpful!  :)

How To: Peel, Seed & Cut Butternut Squash

In order to stabilize the squash, use a heavy sharp kitchen knife to make an even cut 1/2″ from the top (stem-end), and then another from the bottom.  Discard the parts.

With the squash stabilized on the cutting board (or held in one hand), use a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife to carefully peel away the thick skin of the squash using downward strokes.  Once the skin is completely removed, place the squash upright on the cutting board again.  Use your heavy kitchen knife to make a vertical cut down the middle of the squash so that it is split in half (as pictured below).  Then use a spoon or melon-baller to scoop out the seeds and stringy membranes from the squash cavity.  You can either discard these, or rinse and save the seeds to roast.  Yum!!

Then use your heavy kitchen knife to cut the squash into the size of pieces you prefer (typically 1/2″, 1″, or a larger “rough chop”).  I find it easiest to cut the squash in two pieces first, and to divide them as pictured below.  But of course, go for whatever your recipe says.  :)

Then add the pieces to your favorite dish, and cook and enjoy!!!