Pumpkin Beer Bread with Maple Spice Creme Fraiche

Makes 1 loaf
½ cup pumpkin beer
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed pumpkin (canned or roasted and mashed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup pecans, pulverized
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup Maple Spice Crème Fraîche (recipe follows)
Pour the beer into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and the sugar together using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated. Add the pumpkin, baking soda, salt, flour, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and beer and mix until fully incorporated. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a greased loaf pan. Place in the oven and bake until a long toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
MAPLE SPICE CRÈME FRAÎCHE
Yields 1 cup
If you can't find crème fraîche, sour cream is a fine substitute. You may want to bump up the maple syrup a bit since sour cream is more tart than crème fraîche.
1 cup crème fraîche
1½ tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
¼ teaspoon clove, ground
Mix all of the ingredients together until they are completely incorporated. Chill or serve at room temperature.

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Vegan Green Posole

Serves 6-8

For posole:
1 pound dried white hominy
1 large white onion, chopped or sliced thin lengthwise
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
1-3 serrano chiles
1 big bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 cup pepitas (optional)
Salt
For serving:
Iceberg lettuce or green cabbage, shredded
Avocado chunks
Thinly sliced radishes
Fresh cilantro
Dried Mexican oregano
Lime wedges
Rinse hominy, removing any foreign matter. Cover with water and let soak overnight. The next day, drain and rinse posole and add to a slow cooker with the onion, garlic, oil, oregano, and 64 ounces of water. In a blender or food processor, process the tomatillos with serranos, pepitas (if using) and cilantro (stems and all) until smooth, adding just enough water for it to blend. Add this green sauce to the slow cooker as well and cook on low for 6 hours or so, until posole kernels are tender and have flowered into popcorn shapes. Salt to taste and serve with garnishes.
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Breakfast Spaghetti Squash Egg Nests

Serves 2

2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (about ½ of a baked spaghetti squash)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 green onions, diced
½ egg
1 tablespoon fresh basil finely chopped
½-1 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 tablespoons almond flour (depending on the wateriness of the squash)
4 eggs (1 per nest)
1-2 tablespoons oil
Turn oven on broil. In a bowl combine the squash, garlic,green onions, egg, basil salt and almond flour. Mix. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add a mound of the spaghetti squash mixture to the pan. Using a spoon push into the center of the mound, making about a 1 inch round opening at the center. Crack an egg into the center of each spaghetti squash mound, widening the circle as needed to get the egg to fit. Assemble one nest at a time, fitting about 2-4 nests into a cast iron pan. Continue to cook the nests until the bottom becomes crisp (but not burned). Place the cast iron pan under the broiler. Broil for for 3-4 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs cooked. Remove from the oven, plate and serve.

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Spaghetti Squash with Apples

Serves 6, as a side
One medium spaghetti squash (2.5-3 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 apple, cored and chopped (I'm in love with Pink Lady, but any other sweet-tart apple would work)
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/4 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (You could substitute sunflower seeds or any roasted, salted nut you wanted for the pumpkin seeds if you don't have any on hand.)
Carefully cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place each cut half face down on a microwave-safe dish with 1-2 tablespoons water in the bottom of the dish. Microwave on full power 6-8 minutes or until squash is tender and easily shreds with a fork. (Or bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your squash.) While squash is cooking, in a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt. Shred cooked squash with a fork into a medium bowl. Toss with Dijon dressing and apple, cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Season to taste with salt, and serve. 

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Green Chili and Black Bean Tacos

Serves: 2 (3 tacos each)

Chopped romaine or leafy green lettuce
1 tomato chopped
1 cup corn
1 diced cucumber
1 can black beans
4 roasted chilies
1 1/2 cup brown rice
3/4 cup favorite red salsa
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa
Pinch of garlic powder
Chop and dice veggies and pour a generous serving of red salsa into a side cup. Grill corn tortillas in a non-stick pan using a slight spray of canola oil, if needed. In your food processor place black beans (rinsed, drained, and pat dry), chilies, garlic powder and tomatillo sauce — blend till smooth. Mix in brown rice and add a little black pepper to taste, heat. Arrange food on a plate and sit and share with some great company (for me it’s my 2 year-old) while you eat to good health. NOTE: For this recipe you may use any toppings, the above were what I had on hand. I also like to put chopped, cooked potatoes from leftovers, or sautéed green peppers and onions, and shredded purple cabbage for a crunch — possibilities are endless.
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Roasted Turnips with Parmesan

Serves 4
2 pounds turnips (about 4 medium), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1/2 ounce)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine turnips, cayenne, nutmeg, and oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan and toss gently to combine. Arrange turnips in a single layer and roast until golden on both sides, 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

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Kale Market salad

Serves 2-4
Lacinato kale is my variety of choice here.
Green Garlic Dressing:
2 stalks green garlic (or scallions), rinsed and chopped (~1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
fresh pepper to taste
Salad:
1/2 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
1 cup / 5.5 oz cooked farro or wheat berries (semi-pearled or whole)
4-5 farmers’ market carrots, very thinly sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
A big handful of almond slices, toasted
Make the dressing by using a hand blender or food processor to puree the green garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth. Taste, and adjust with more salt, or honey, or lemon juice.
Before you’re ready to serve, combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process. Add the farro, carrots, and fennel, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste, and add the last of the dressing if needed. This is a salad I like quite heavily dressed. Add the avocados and almonds and give one last gentle toss.

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