Update!

Head on over to Make On Through to see my latest creation for my best friend's going away party! I am still trying to figure out how to directly connect my two blogs up at the pages location but no luck. Any helpers out there???

Alive and Baking!

Hi all, I know I've been really bad about blogging lately but like I said before, things are really crazy right now. I have been baking though and after Sunday I will have a lot to post about. It will take me a while to get it all sorted out but no worries, I will be back in the blogging game in no time.

In other news, I have started to participate in Meatless Mondays and have found myself eating a lot less meat as well as dairy through out the week. I know I couldn't give up meat/ animal products entirely. I love cheese and seafood way too much but I have started to notice a change now that I have cut back. I still eat meat in the form of seafood if I am feeling lethargic and like I may need some kind of heavy-duty animal protein but I really haven't had much poultry as of late. I haven't had beef in years so that wasn't much of a change. People ask why I don't eat beef and/or red meat and I really don't know why. I just don't like it. I think it's the texture. I'm the same way with jello.

Anyway, not to ramble on about my eating habits. I just thought I'd share with you all some information that I find interesting. Since this is a food blog and I aim to make healthy/ healthier recipes I thought someone might find it useful to know that animal protein isn't all it's cracked up to be. I think everyone should try to cut back on their meat consumption, if not just to see how they feel. Of course, you have to supplement your proteins and talk to your doctor if you are concerned about it. I'm not a medical professional, just speaking from my own experience. Food habits are personal and what works for one person may not work for another. I do think it's worth looking into though. At least try to Join the Movement!

Butternut Squash Pudding

Mmmm butternut squash. Most people turn their nose up at squash but me? I love it. I think squash is so versatile. Along with being full of vitamins and good for you ingredients, you can do so much with it. One thing you can do with it is make it into a pudding. Yum! I made a few alterations to my recipe, omitting the eggs and substitution with banana. I didn't take into account how sweet this would taste when I added the Splenda. Oops. I mean it was still good, just very sweet. I don't like things that are overly sweet but someone who likes sweet things might.

After mixing the cornstarch and sugar, I put all wet ingredients into the food processor and added the sugar mixture.

Next I put the pureed mixture over heat. What do you think about my bright green whisk? It was a gift from my Secret Lilly Elf over Christmas. She didn't even know that the rest of my kitchen accessories were lime green! Crazy huh?

Now, this has to be continually whisked until it became thick and firm. If not, it would burn. Mine started to on the bottom of the pan because I didn't keep whisking the way I should have.

When all was said and done, I had a very tasty, I be it sweet pudding that was filled with nutrients and pretty low calorie considering the original recipe had heavy cream and eggs!

I should also mention that I didn't have a sieve so mine had some lumps in it but nothing that couldn't be overlooked, since I wasn't serving it to anyone.

Well that's all for today, sorry for the lack of updates. Like I said, the next few weeks are going to be crazy busy but I'm going to do what I can. Oh and I will have a post for Make on Through sometime in April. I can't post it before then because it's a gift for someone. I hope you all have a great week!

Recipe
Savour the Senses

Ingredients

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar blend)

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup roasted butternut squash puree

1 1/2 cups non-fat milk (I used almond milk)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used Greek yogurt)

pinch of salt

3 large egg yolks (I used a ripe banana)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons light butter (cubed) (I used Earth Balance)

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and corn starch.In your blender, blend the squash puree, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar mixture, salt, and egg yolks. Blend until very smooth then strain through a fine sieve (or cheesecloth) into a saucepan.

Cook the squash mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbly (about 10 minutes). Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for another minute or two (your pudding should be thickened but still pourable).

Strain the pudding through the sieve into a bowl (using a spatula or wooden spoon helps).

Stir vanilla extract and butter into the hot pudding until completely combined. Let the pudding cool, then place plastic wrap on the surface, cover and refrigerate until cold.

Notes

To make the squash puree, half the squash and roast face-down at 400F until soft (about 30-40 minutes).

Happy Birthday, Oreo Cookie!

Did you know that the Oreo cookie is 100 years old today?! I didn't! I heard it on the radio and thought "hmm if only I had known, I would have made homemade oreos" but then I heard them talking about something that made me really excited... cake flavored Oreos! So I decided to stop at the store on my way in to work so we could all celebrate this momentous occasions with some cake Oreos.

So off I went to the grocery store that's way over priced but it was on my way to work (surprisingly, it wasn't Acme but Genuardis!), so I stopped anyway. After browsing the organic/ethnic aisles, which I must admit they have an excellent selection, I made my way over to the cookie aisle and guess what?! No cake Oreos! I did pick up some regular ones though and everyone had one or two... or maybe five.

Did you know that Oreos are vegan? Not for any good reason though. Mostly because they are all chemically processed foods. I personally don't eat them because of the high fructose corn syrup and I try to avoid that as much as possible. I figure I probably get enough from the foods I don't realize have them, so if I see it on a label, I don't bother with it. If other people want to enjoy them, that's fine though! Happy Birthday Oreo Cookies!

Also, I was going to post about my butternut squash pudding but I decided to save that for another day.