How to Cook a Sugar Pumpkin -- The Easy Way

Last month Crock-Pot came out with this little vintage retro 4-quart slow cooker. It looks like the kind your mom had in the 70's... and what can I say? I couldn't resist. (Thankfully, I have a policy of getting rid of two old things in place of buying something new, so my kitchen is not overrun with slow cookers!)

It's a super cute, tall, round slow cooker. It works great for soups and stews and a round loaf of gluten-free bread. Not so great for a meatloaf or a roast chicken... but you know what fits PERFECTLY? Yep... a sugar pumpkin! One of my favorite ways to cook other types of squash such as acorn, butternut, and spaghetti is using this method...so why not pumpkin!

You may have to shorten the stem if it's too tall to make sure it fits with the lid on, but that's it. That's all the prep work. No cutting through a rock hard pumpkin, just stick it in the slow cooker. Add a little water so it won't burn on the bottom... and voila... 8 hours later on low heat... perfectly cooked pumpkin.

Just remove the stem, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff inside and then scoop out the pumpkin. Easy, home cooked fresh pumpkin!

December Sanity Challenge 2012 -- A Peaceful Holiday Season

Image created by the lovely Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design

December... a time actually meant for rest, reflection, creativity, and self-care. But is that what you think of when you envision December? I don't. It often can mean a never-ending to-do list. A focus on gifts, gifts, gifts... christmas cards, ornate decorating, doing everything possible to create a picture-perfect Rockwell holiday. And really, it was just a painting. A lovely painting... but it's not what the holidays are all about.

For me, December is a time to reflect on the journey of Christmas. As a Christian, it's a deeply spiritual time of remembering the miracle of Christ's birth. It's also a deeply spiritual time for many, many other religions and beliefs. It's a time to honor our friends & family. It's a time to rest and rejuvenate.

But so often with sparkly lights, weeks and weeks of Holiday sales starting the actual DAY of Thanksgiving now (ironic, no?), and holiday party after holiday party... it's no wonder we can lose sight of the serenity of the season.

Last year was the first year I participated in Cheryl Harris' December Sanity Challenge. It was truly a gift to realize that I didn't have to be a part of the "crazy-ness" of Christmas. That I really could stop worrying about being perfect, measuring up with the absolute "right" (ie.. expensive) gifts, keeping up with friends & relatives spending enormous amounts on gifts and food. The holiday didn't have to be about "keeping up."

So once again I'm accepting this December's Sanity Challenge. I want to enjoy a peaceful, less-stressful Christmas. And you can too.

Cheryl suggests making a few concrete goals for the season. So here are the goals that I want to work towards this December:

• I will write down three things I am thankful and grateful for every day. 
• I will enjoy a dessert/sweet treat/baked good only once per day and in a small portion (1 small muffin, 2 small GF cookies, etc...) 
• I will take a short 15 minute walk outside at least 2 times a week, both for letting go of stress and to encourage myself to exercise more. 
• To help with our budget this month, I will not buy anything new (used or thrift store items okay) for myself. See Leo Babauta's challenge this week for my inspiration to do this for the remainder of the year... and I would actually like to pursue this in 2013 as well. 

This year's December Sanity Challenge will be hosted also by the following bloggers:

• Dec 1st -- Valerie of City|Life|Eats 
• Dec 8th -- Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat
• Dec 15th -- Cheryl of Gluten-free Goodness
• Dec 22nd -- Iris of Daily Dietribe
• Dec 29th -- ME! Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl

As a little added incentive, for each post on your intentions and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, Cheryl is offering a $50 Nuts.com gift certificate and I am giving away two brand-new signed copies of my "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" after our monthly event is over.

From Cheryl: "Last, but not least, we do have a FB group – if you’d like to join, you’re more than welcome. It’s a space to support and be supported, and it’s the same one we used during our last Self-Care Retreat."

To get a “flavor” of past retreats:
http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/
July Self-Care Retreat and the December Sanity Retreat.

I hope you'll join us in having a sane, peaceful, and joyful Holiday season!

Thanksgiving with my Dad

I've had many, many kind emails and comments over the past few months asking about my Dad and his recovery. We traveled last week to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad. It was the first time I've seen him out of the hospital since July and he's doing great. He's using a portable "left ventricle assist device," more commonly referred to as an LVAD. He's getting around great with the device and is slowly building up more and more muscle strength every day. He can do all of the regular daily activities that you or I do, he just does it with the the LVAD unit.

I'm incredibly thankful I also was able to spend some time with my sister and my nephew Chris as well!

We spent a few hours hanging out on the porch with Dad. (Notice the very appropriate"Beatles" cup on the table!) The weather was absolutely beautiful on Thanksgiving day and it was unseasonably warm, especially in the sunlight.

It was good to see my Dad wearing his signature Carolina-blue ballcap again! (GO HEELS!) We noshed on some baby carrots, pepperoni sticks, and Dad and Michael enjoyed cheese and crackers while the bird was finishing up in the oven.

See that there kitteh on Betty's lap? That kitteh is around 22 years old! My sister brought him home when she was in elementary school!  You can also see some of the equipment my Dad uses in the above photo. He is wearing the LVAD controller at the front, and the battery packs are on both sides of his belt. 

Betty's classic ruby red cranberry sauce. It was delicious with the turkey. I wish I had gotten a photograph of our entire meal, but we served: turkey, two types of dressing (gluten-free included!), baked sweet potatoes, a spinach/artichoke casserole, cranberry cobbler along with Betty's cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gluten-free gravy. Now that I think about it... we may have been lacking in the green veggies department... lol!

The star dessert was this lower sugar "Almond Joy Impossible" pie. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it (I'm sure the chocolate chips which melted along the bottom layer had nothing to do with it!) We also made a Cheryl's vegan pumpkin pie and my chocolate chip cookies -- both of which were also big hits!

On Sunday I noticed this beautiful rose on Betty's rosebush. I'm sure it's probably the last of the summer roses and it was absolutely stunning in the midst of brown and orange fallen leaves and a chill in the air. I hope your Thanksgiving was just as lovely!

Cumin Honey Salad Dressing Recipe

My favorite shredded cabbage

Last night was grocery night, on grocery nights in addition to getting a week's worth of food, it's also the night I try to buy something super quick for dinner. Because after grocery shopping who wants to spend hours making dinner? (Well, I don't... lol) I bought some of our favorite chicken salad from a local barbecue chain and some sweet potato patties (you southerners will know what those are... lol.... my husband loves them!)

And to round out the meal I decided to use up a package of angel hair coleslaw I had at home. Why do I buy pre-cut cabbage? Because it's easy, that's why... :-) And it makes awesome low carb gluten-free "noodles"... no, it really does! Try the 'angel hair coleslaw' in your chicken soup!

But I wasn't feeling it for a mayo-based coleslaw. So I decided to play with the recipe they had on the package which was for a basic vinegar & oil type dressing.

I made a bunch of substitutions since I didn't have everything the recipe called for. We tried it and it was good, but it needed something. I asked Michael to taste it and tell me what was missing. He tried it and thought for a minute and then said, "Vinegar. It needs some bite... and maybe a little more honey." 

He's getting better at this than I am. 

Because he was absolutely right. That's exactly what it needed. A little bit more bite. A little bit more sweetness. Voila... a brand new, no-mayo coleslaw! 

And the fresh parley throughout the mix.. seriously awesome! If you're a fan of cilantro, use that instead, it will really enhance the flavor of the cumin.

Cumin Honey Dressing for Salads
free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and eggs
adapted by Carrie & Michael Forbes, from a recipe on the Dole Angel Hair Coleslaw package
printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic raspberry vinegar (I used this kind, but use any kind of balsamic vinegar!)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions: 
In a medium-sized bowl whisk together all ingredients. If using immediately add 1 (10 oz.) package of salad mix or shredded cabbage for coleslaw. If saving for a future use simply pour into a glass jar with an airtight lid. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

PS... we also added sliced almonds and toasted sesame seeds to each serving! Really good.

Those days, those weeks...

Ever have those days?

I'm looking at my blog calendar and amidst the giveaways and the book reviews are blank empty spots to be filled in.

blank

empty

spots

Some weeks are like that. This blog is a big, wide-open, blank canvas and there are days, I simply have no idea what to fill it with.

The momentum has changed. I love cooking and I love writing... photography not so much. But that's no secret.

It seems like every season brings change.

Change to the leaves, to the scents in the air as I leave work in the afternoons. Change to diets, change to the list of books on my reading list.

What's next? I really don't know.

Some days I want to write stories. Some days I want to cook. Some days I'd rather just observe and watch. Lately I've picked up my crochet needles again. It's that time of year. Many afternoons I'm contemplative and I want to simply write out those thoughts and feelings. And more often than not these days, I'd rather stay away from any electronic device for weeks at a time. Who needs Facebook? Facebook can make you feel like others lives are more fulfilling than your own. And that simply isn't true. It's one of those tools of this day and age which needs to be used in great moderation or it can steal your joy.

My neighbor stopped me in the driveway yesterday. Came to return a dish. Apologized for not filling it with something in return. I smiled. And she sighed and simply said she was tired. She went on to talk about the things in her life that were extremely challenging for her right now. The frustrations that come from owning an old house. And just life in general. I listened, not really knowing what to say. But I wanted to help.

I wanted to invite her over for my grandmother's tea. To come into my messy kitchen. We'd push stuff out of the way on my overcrowded kitchen table and just enjoy the moment. Different families, same frustrations.

Life has just been like that... messy, overcrowded, days of frustration, days of absolute joy.

How do you sort it all out? Are you a contemplative type? Do you ever feel overwhelmed, even when things are good? Do you question what direction you need to be headed? If you're doing things right on your blog, in your journal, in your life?  What are you working through right now? Do blank empty spots face you as well? How do you work through those moments?

I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below... and there's an anonymous option to leave comments, so you can be completely honest and totally anonymous if you'd like too.