Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 4 bulk carrots, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

Spices:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons curry powder (most curry is a blend of coriander, cumin and turmeric)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicy)

Directions:

1. In the slow cooker, add potatoes, carrots, onions, chickpeas and peas.
2. Pour in tomatoes, coconut milk, garlic, ginger and all the spices.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
4. Approximately 1 hour before serving, add the bell peppers (optional)
5. Serve with rice, naan bread, pita, or tortillas.

These carrot-orange muffins are made with bran and are low-sugar to boot. If you want them celiac-friendly you can use gluten-free flour.

Carrot-Orange Bran Muffins

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups all-bran cereal (such as all bran, bran flakes)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 ¾ cups skim milk, with 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or 1 ¾ cup buttermilk)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, mixed with 1 cup of water to make chia gel
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce (or pumpkin, or just margarine)
• 3 bulk carrots, grated (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 orange, grated rind
• ½ cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cereal, raisins (you may add the raisins in with the wet ingredients if you choose), sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, margarine, applesauce, carrot and orange rind.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

5. Spoon into sprayed or lightly greased muffin tin. Do NOT use paper muffin liners.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops are firm to the touch, or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Words of Wisdom:

That note on direction #5 about not using paper muffin liners… yeah, I learned this the hard way. Turns out they don’t peel off nicely and I ended up with ugly muffins.

The batch should make a dozen decent-sized muffins. I ended up with 18 small muffins because they didn’t rise very much and I only filled each tin ¾ full. Next time I’ll fill them level with the muffin tin.

And finally, I’m not sure if it was how I was storing them (in a tupperware on the counter), or if my apartment heat is too high (I can’t control the temp) or if it was the paper muffin cups (damn you!) … but my muffins went mouldy within 3 days. Next time, I’m storing them in the fridge because otherwise, this recipe is top notch.

P.S. I combined several different recipes for carrot and/or low-sugar bran muffins, then included orange zest.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium cooking onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 4 cups of carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container of vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, drizzle olive oil over onion, celery, potatoes, and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned.
2. Put in the carrots and pour stock to cover the vegetables. If not enough, use some water to cover.
3. Cover the pot and raise the heat to medium to bring to a simmer.
4. Reduce to low and gently simmer until vegetables are soft when pieced with a fork (20-25 minutes)
5. Remove from heat and let cool.
6. Working in batches, ladle soup into a food processor or blender. Process to make a smooth purée.
7. Return the purée to the large pot and add 1 cup of vegetable stock or water to thin (add more if too thick), salt and pepper to taste.

Notes/Recommendations:

• I would suggest you use bulk carrots. My mom had the pre-peeled and chopped ones left over from family dinner, so they were quick and easy to use. But you’ll get a heartier soup and flavour with unprocessed carrots.
• Either have a suuuper powerful blender or make sure to chop that ginger really fine. I didn’t chop mine very fine (as you can see in the photos) and then my Magic Bullet isn’t the bestest for this kind of work. So there are several “ginger surprises” in my semi-chunky soup. I kind of like the chunkyness with bits of carrot, onion, celery, and potatoe… but the ginger is a bit too flavourful for that.

My favourite fall recipe (also the one I’m most proud of) is my Pumpkin Spice Loaf. I absolutely love the pumpkin spice loaf from Starbucks, and I was determined to make it. After many failed attempts and some mediocre loafs, I discovered the secret to Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Loaf. Now, since I already shared that recipe for Tea Talks so I need to share something different.

Then my second thought was my mother’s Oven-Roasted Vegetables. So I went searching for a picture, knowing that I made them when we were living in London. Well, it turns out I already shared the recipe for Oven-Roasted Vegetables as well.

So I’ve decided to share my mom’s lovely Tuna Noodle Casserole adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook! I love canned tuna and this casserole is perfect straight from the oven, or reheated for lunch the next day. It’s comfort food and a well-balanced meal.

Also, visit My Friend Amy’s blog for a Mister Linky with all the Fall Festival recipes!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Preheat oven to 375°F. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup elbow macaroni (3.5 oz.)
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 can (10 oz.) of cream of mushroom soup
• 3 cans (approx. 550g total) of tuna
• 3/4 cup peas

Preparation:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook frozen peas according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. For sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook celery and onion in 2 tablespoons butter or margarine till tender. Stir in flour to thicken.
4. Add milk and cream of mushroom soup. Cook and stir till slightly thickened and bubbly.
5. Combine sauce with tuna, peas, and noodles.
6. Transfer to a large casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes (or until bubbly)

Substitutions (optional):

• Use canned salmon instead of tuna
• Add mushrooms (canned or fresh)
• Use mixed casserole vegetables instead of just peas
• Top with cheese or bread crumbs

Here’s some photos of the blackberries this weekend. Unfortunately, due to the wet June over half of the blackberries were not ripe. And of the ones that were, a bunch were over ripe because of the wet August too.

Distracted by the gorgeous Percheron next door to the camp… and her little baby (who was born last summer).

My Our haul (I suppose the BF was helpful and deserves credit):

Mmmm Blackberry crumb bars!

A couple nights ago, CW and I decided to treat ourselves and made a batch. At one point I boiled it over because it warms up so nicely on the stove. I then had a nice warm bath with my new orange bath salts and mandarin soap. One problem: does anyone know how to stop the hot-cocoa skin from forming as it cools?

I told CW about the knits that everyone is talking about. (Have you seen the hat that Cass made?) I was totally shocked when the Ice Bear’s bottom jaw got knocked off! You should have seen my face… I thought he was just gonna get a good smack, but then his jaw went flying.

I’d recommend seeing it, as it is good. But it was absolutely magnificent script-wise… I think they’re depending too much on it being a trilogy. The books felt more conclusive from what I remember when I was 12.

Afterwards we came home and prepped the house for CW & RH’s Christmas Party. I baked so much shortbread! It went over really well though — Coleen is apparently addicted to them. I still have some dough left in the freezer because I plan to make some for CW’s Grandad J. I was really worried they wouldn’t turn out… but they tasted great. You should have seen how excited I was when I pulled the first batch out on Sunday night. I broke a warm cookie in half and ran to CW in the living room and we shared the first shortbread of the season. It felt good. But I can’t  share the recipe! It’s my mom’s secret!

Oven-Roasted Vegetables

Originally from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook – adapted with my mom & my changes

Heat the oven to 160°C. In a casserole dish, combine the following ingredients (or any variation):

• white nugget potatoes, halved
• carrots, peeled & chopped in half
• yams/sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped
• turnip, peeled & quartered
• onion, sliced in wedges
• red and/or green pepper, sliced into strips [don't add yet]

Combine the following ingredients (for the dressing) in a jar and shake to combine:

• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Drizzle over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes, stirring once.
Increase oven temperature to 250°C and add peppers to casserole dish. Toss again and test the vegetables & potatoes with a fork. Leave uncovered and bake for another 20 minutes or until vegetables & potatoes are tender and browned on edges.

On Sunday, before CW and I came back to Vancouver, we went blackberry picking in the back fields at camp. We nearly filled two peanut butter jars full of fresh berries and when we got home, I made pie! I did the same last year but the pie filling, because the berries were fresh, turned out reeeeally juicy. This recipe worked better, still juicy but more pie-like instead of a pastry-drink! So, here’s my altered recipe to make Fresh Blackberry Pie.

Pictures are to come because my sister lost her camera cord, so I gave her mine… and she took it with her to Germany.I usually put the photos on the memory card and then put it in my printer, but I forgot and now I need to buy a new cord.

(Edit: The amazing London Drugs man showed me how to Transfer my photos from the Internal Memory to an External Memory Card. While you are viewing the photo, select Menu and find the “Transfer” or “Copy” options. Then insert the Memory Card and transfer the photos! Easy as pie – pun intended!)

Fresh Blackberry Pie

4 c. fresh berries
7/8 to 1 c. of sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1 wedge of fresh lemon

Select ripe, juicy berries; wash and lay on an old towel and pat dry. Make pastry (or purchase pre-made shells) for 9-inch 2-crust pie.

Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, use the approriate amount of sugar. Mix sugar and flour and lightly toss with the berries.

Pour berries into pastry shell and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. Cover with top crust; shown is lattice crust – slice top crust into strips and lay on top in alternative pattern (experts – weave the strips).If you are not doing a lattice, make sure to slit top crust near center to allow steam to escape.

Seal edges using a bit of water on your fingers. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-35 minutes, or until crust is browned.

Serve warm (not hot) with french vanilla ice cream.

(Altered recipe from Cooks.com)