Sides + Snacks Archives - Rooting The Sun

homemade pumpkin puree

October 5, 2015 By Danielle 6 Comments

What happens when the wind blows summer away from our thoughts, drops leaves effortlessly from the trees, and sends slights of cold air to our fingertips? Pumpkins happen! So naturally does their orange color reflect the landscape and holiday season that our taste-buds turn easily into the sweet, savory, cosmic realm of their consumption. Whether you grow your own pumpkins, go hunting gleefully in a patch, select them softly from a farmers market, or perhaps obtain a beautiful stock from the grocer – their current presence is marked, celebrated, and known.

It is October now officially, yes? This time of year seems to be fulfilled deeply by warm interiors, memorable libations, and eager memories to be made. October and September may be our favorite months of the year – righteous transitional stages, welcoming of new and different elements. What better an accent than the noble pumpkin? Symbolic, decorative, culinary: the latter being a treasured seasonal focus.

I’m sure comparisons have been drawn – the world is vast and has been around. Canned pumpkin? Real pumpkin? What comes to mind is accessibility and ease – is is truly worth pureeing your own? Is the taste that different for the included effort? I’m most definitely the lady to tell you yes. Being able to cultivate your own patch is a whimsy all its own (precisely evoking images of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown). Visiting a pumpkin patch is a delightful family memory. What it boils down to is having the pumpkin and roasting the pumpkin is an incredibly easy, fresh, and delicious option.

In the next few weeks I have some delicious pumpkin ideas readied for you. It’s necessary to point out that when I call for pumpkin puree you may easily substitute for the canned option (there’s no shame in this!) – but I also wanted to provide you the tool of process in case you have access to fresh pumpkin and wish to enchant this endeavor (you will not regret it!).

homemade pumpkin puree

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

1 5 lb pumpkin (or anywhere around here - this will infinitely vary due to differences in breeds, availability, and size)

Instructions

preheat oven to 400 degrees
wash and dry pumpkin
remove stem and slice in half
remove interior seeds and pulp (separate seeds from pulp and save!)
line large baking sheet with parchment paper and place pumpkin cut sides down
roast pumpkin for 40 minutes or until done (roasting is complete when a knife easily slides into the flesh)
allow pumpkin to cool
scrape flesh into processor or blender and process until smooth
keep puree in refrigerator for 5-7 days or freeze

Additionally – a perfect benefit of pureeing your own lovely pumpkin is most definitely the seeds. A quick release from the pulp and you’re left with a clean, healthy slate for flavor and enjoyment. I look forward to roasting pumpkin seeds just as much as pureeing the pumpkin! Do you have any favorite pumpkin seed flavor combinations?

pumpkin seeds two ways

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

reserved pumpkin seed - removed from pulp, washed, patted dry

Instructions

preheat oven to 350
dress pumpkin seeds with drizzle of olive oil
sweet option: add brown sugar and cinnamon
savory option: add lime juice and chili powder
spread seeds out on medium sheet pan and roast 15-20 minutes until brown and crisp

Tomatillo Habanero Pear Jam

September 22, 2015 By Danielle 5 Comments

There is a cricket right outside of my window. He has seemingly taken residence. This I only conclude as it’s been several days and his chirping is persistent and sincere. I’ve admittedly tried to knock on the window and the wall to rouse him, but to no avail. The most curious fact is that his chirps are slowing. Slowing their tempo and separating from the chorus. It is officially fall now and he knows it. If you have a resident cricket and you like experimenting with simple science check out my about me page – I have a way to (generally) tell the temperature by vehicle of cricket song.

Other souls have been anticipating the cooling of temperature – the tomatillos in the garden. Each year we seem to plant too many – but I always ask myself when they finally fruit, what constitutes as too many? They grow tall and bushy and proud. They stretch out and flower and drop their husky lanterns. This year we planted both green and purple varieties – which if you practice patience with your fruits to purple you will not regret the taste. They spend the summer growing tall and deep – but it’s only when the coolness begins that the husks begin to fill in and occasionally drop to the ground below. The tomatillos have arrived in mass.

What’s a cricket-listening soul to do with such an acquiring? So many things come to mind that I may not possibly silence in the oncoming weeks – this is definitely not a finality. However, my initial intrigue is in the time and space of jam. Tomatillos naturally have high pectin levels that allow them to gel easily. And not only do we aim to root the sun, we aim to root spicy things to our taste buds constantly. A tomatillo pear and habanero jam, respectively.

The flavors are cohesive, they work lovingly alongside one another. The method is simple and the results are pure. Your yield is a tangy, spicy, sweet mixture that is best spread on toast or swirled into yogurt. I recommend the presence of the habanero, but even just the tomatillo and pear sing brightly. If you wanted to exclude the heat you could easily do so.

Happy fresh autumn friends! The leaves are starting to expose their souls.

Tomatillo Habanero Pear Jam

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Serves: 1½ - 2 cups

Ingredients

1 lb tomatillos, husks removed and halved
1 lb of pear (about 2 large) roughly chopped
1 habanero, finely minced
1 cup of sugar
1 cup water

Instructions

Gather tomatillo, pear, and habanero into a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan.
Add sugar and water and stir ingredients to lightly combine.
Heat over medium high, bring to a boil, then lower to a warm simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. In this period the fruit should break down and gel. If needed, help fruit mash.
Enjoy with toast, yogurt, ice cream, or any way you can dream.

Pepita Pistachio Butter

September 6, 2015 By Danielle Leave a Comment

A crisp breath inward punctuates my lungs and today the air is so cool that my heart is on fire. This weather is refreshing and I am reveling in it. The slow and simple decline of summer, the chirps of new birds, the shuffle for longer sleeves, the lighting of candles, the inclination of change arriving on the prairie winds. The leaves of the cottonwoods shimmer silver as they contemplate their release. There is much to digest – many things that accompany the seasonal shift. There is gratitude for the bounty of the summer, and curiosity for the onset of cold. This gradual process is a meditative yearly ritual. To embrace each season is to be on good terms.

I like to think we are masters of small space living. Our space is particularly evident when the cold keeps us inside. Yet somehow our silhouettes shift and slide gracefully into the next space without disturbing the flow of the last. The dog doesn’t have this down yet, but let’s blame it on her big paws. We are outside people. The garden is outside, the mountains are outside, the bodies of water are outside, and our heads our generally in space (again, outside). It’s occasionally difficult to audibly murmur that it’s “too” cold to be outdoors – however the temperatures like to drop rather low here (add windchill and those tears are frozen). If I had one lament (I try not to) about the seasonal transference it would be the multitude of dark hours we must spend indoors at the year’s end. Though this is remedied by boozy holidays and festivities. And if I had to turn the lament upside down and find the positive – I would acknowledge that those hours inside are cherished and quiet ones. Productive in their own right. Intimate and candlelit. Loud when future plans are being drawn in maps and journals on the floor. Reminiscent, excited, hopeful.

Snapshots of what isn’t here quite yet, but what is coming and what I’m ok with.

The cold snap has a strange stirring effect on my mind.

And when you stir (whir, blend) nuts/seeds for an extended period of time you create delicious butter. I am offering pepitas and pistachios in an irresistible combination. To be enjoyed any season, but it seems quite playful with the first flirtations of autumn.

There is much cosmic excitement about pumpkins. It’s a holy fruit, a cult obsession, and a tasty addition to just about anything. Pepitas are no less exciting, but I harness my focus on them year round instead. This recipe is so simple and the results are of divinity. All it takes is a small stint of roasting, and a bit of patience blending.

What doesn’t come together initially will eventually come together in grand ways. You are left with a butter that is deliciously enjoyed on crackers, bread, vegetables, and fruit.

Happy holiday weekend friends – here’s to the sun setting down sooner, but the moon rising to new and greater heights. I hope your hearts are open to any of your own seasonal shifts – there is much to engage with.

Pepita Pistachio Butter

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Rooting The Sun

Serves: ½ - ¾ cup

Ingredients

1 cup raw pumpkin seed
½ cup shelled pistachio
1 tbl coconut oil softened
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp chili powder

Instructions

preheat oven to 350 degrees
toast pumpkin and pistachio on a baking sheet ten minutes
transfer to food processor and blend until the consistency is of a crumble, 2-3 minutes.
add the coconut oil and continue to blend until a butter forms. the mixture may become sticky before it becomes smooth.
add the cinnamon and chili powder and incorporate in processor.

Notes

recipe may be easily double, tripled, quadrupled for a higher yield of butter.

Baba Ganoush with Miso

September 2, 2015 By Danielle 6 Comments

Poached are any lingering feelings of exhaustion or dullness because soon the holiday weekend will be upon us – I am left feeling optimistic and welcoming of the time away from work. I have a mind that easily wanders whilst I’m allegedly assigned to “more important tasks”, so it’s always nice to be able to have personal time for my wandering mind. Inspiration can be quite beguiling at times: often I think I am onto a brilliance as my senses become heightened and my synapses start to fire – but just as soon as it hatches, it flickers and dims. I cannot be alone in this! But there are those times where (what you feel is) greatness steps into the air. There is a lure involved with an awakening – the temptation of the muse we do not know yet, but will fall so hard for. The beginnings of these feelings are chaotic and blissful. The results, if they come to fruition, are frustrating, beautiful, and captivating all at once. We can search for it, or we are found – but it’s always an adventure.

The garden has been the greatest influence to my life this year. Many hours have revolved around planning, tending, nurturing, and receiving. I have spent many more hours speaking lovingly to those who surround me about the joys and benefits of growing your own food. My hours spent convincing have been short, mainly because I think there is a sweet and communal acknowledgement that food is best when it is fortified by one’s own hand. Around here we are investigating new ways to spread the message that you don’t necessarily need a farm to provide some form of nourishment for yourself. We are managing our paradise in an urban setting, and I want our neighbors to know that they can do it too! You’d be amazed what you can procure in pots and containers alone. We try not to preach, but simply want to share our enlightenment. Self-sufficiency and health are an unbeatable combination, and an inspiring concoction.

When the garden gives you eggplants you make baba ganoush? I like to think so. This is absolutely one of my favorite dips. There is a sincere smokiness to blistered eggplant that is simply divine. We have been granted some very eager eggplants this year – such beauties to watch grow. We experimented with a few different varieties, including fairy-tales and gretels. I don’t have their portraits with me this evening, but I will share them soon – serious stunners, and tasty to boot. I crafted the baba ganoush with our purple satin eggplants, and the taste was one of happiness. A twist I thought was ever so pleasant and elevating was the addition of miso (I am extremely fond of it). A small endeavor in the oven followed by a quick whirl in the processor leads you softly to bright and bold flavor. I am such a fan.

Enjoy cosmically with pita, olives, cheese, and crudités.

I hope that the oncoming holiday weekend is full of relaxation, inspiration, and loving vibrations. Even though summer is technically still upon us I am giddy with the release of my favorite brewing company’s fall beer, Tumbler. It definitely accents and punctuates cool, crisp nights better – but I can hardly resist a preliminary sip.

Baba Ganoush with Miso

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Rooting The Sun

Serves: 1-2 cups

Ingredients

1½ - 2 lb eggplant (1-2 eggplants)
2-3 garlic cloves smashed (preference!)
3 tbl tahini
juice of 1 large lemon
1 tbl olive oil
1 tsp red miso paste (+more to taste if desired)
½ tsp smoked paprika
⅛ tsp cayenne

Instructions

preheat oven's broiler on high
prick eggplant with a fork
broil on a sheet pan close to the top of the oven for 5-10 minutes
turn oven to 350 degrees
roast eggplants (and add smashed garlic cloves) for 30 minutes until browned and soft
release eggplants from their skins and scrape flesh into a food processor
add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, miso, paprika, and cayenne
process until smooth
adjust seasonings to taste (add salt and pepper if desired)
garnish with drizzle of olive oil, sesame seeds, cilantro, and pomegranate arils

Yellow Squash Chips with Lemon-Basil Aioli

August 27, 2015 By Danielle 8 Comments

So beautiful comes the transitional waking of days that lead from the end of summer to the first sweeping days of autumn. Everything I feel inside of me is related to seasonal change. Emotions, memories, senses – the connection is immediate, evident and powerful. I am attentive to the passing of months and the succession of weather – sometimes obsessive, though I think gardening may play a part in this. As the final tendrils of summer curl softly around us, the blissful crisp of the fall echoes in deep canyons. It’s hard to pick favorites, but I think my heart may be where the autumn consumes the heat and dissolves its passion into romance.

An important thing this year that has struck me – squash plants are givers. If you intend to (or not) feed your entire neighborhood plant even just one or two. They are easy to grow and eager to please, and they will most definitely take over. Their leaves are beautiful sun-soaking elephant ears that just want to absorb the rays. Squash is so versatile in culinary applications it makes for a perfect plant to grow, even if you’re just getting your feet wet for the first time. The roots run deep and the fruit is abundant – not to mention that the breeds are endless. Crookneck, “yellow”, zucchini, spaghetti, acorn, butternut – the diversity is extensive beyond their common names.

I have to laugh. I have been extremely hell-bent on consuming only what we have cultivated. This completely satisfies the entire goal of our efforts. It’s been squash dinner for weeks. If you’re ever questioning the integrity of this beautiful vegetable I would love to stimulate the conversation. The extent of our creativity with squash has had no limit – you name it. What I want to give you today is a really simple purpose of the squash, but it’s healthy and offers a satisfactory alternative to other options.

No insanity involved – just a really low and super slow bake that yields delicious vegetable chips. This may not make it ideal for summer sweltering heat but they are still rightfully addictive. I think it’s worth the slight effort involved. Also, yellow squash chips and lemon-basil aioli go really well together. The significant note I’d like to supply is that these chips do not keep very well – they are meant to be consumed the day of conception. However, this notion is alleviated by the fact that they are so delicious that you will have no issues living up to this task.

yellow squash chips with lemon-basil aioli

Yellow Squash Chips with Lemon-Basil Aioli

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 20 mins

Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

1-2 lbs of yellow/summer squash sliced into thin coins (this may be achieved with knife or mandolin)
olive oil
for the aioli:
1 egg
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp stone ground mustard
½ cup olive oil
½ cup grapeseed oil
juice of half a lemon
⅓ cup of lemon basil leaves torn

Instructions

heat oven to 230 degrees.
line 2(+) baking sheets with parchment paper/slip mats and rub olive oil onto.
spread squash out on paper towels, salt lightly, and allow to sit for 20 minutes. press the coins with paper towels to release any excess moisture.
spread squash on baking sheets and sprinkle with smoked paprika.
bake for 1 hour and flip the coins onto their other sides. add additional spice if desired.
watch intermittently for another hour in the oven, taking the chips as they finish and leaving those that need additional time.
For the Lemon-Basil Aioli:
Bring egg to room temperature. Traditionally aioli calls for the use of a raw egg, however this may be combated by using a pasteurized egg or coddling the egg if you're weary.
In a food processor bring together the egg, garlic, salt and mustard.
With the motor running slowly add the oils - a little at a time until the mixture begins to thicken. Once thickened you can add the oil in a steadier stream. Process until smooth and add lemon and lemon-basil. If you cannot access lemon-basil, regular basil with lemon will yield a similar happiness. Process a minute longer.

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