Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie

I was browsing on the Yummly app one afternoon and came across a pumpkin chocolate muffin which intrigued me because I know how yummy chocolate zucchini cake is. So, I did some more searching around and found this Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Brownie that I wanted to try. Lucky me I had some pumpkin in the fridge that needed to be used! A super easy, super delicious, and not so naughty brownie.

So here is the recipe with a few changes of my own, after reading a few other similar recipes:

(adapted from this recipe)

You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 cup white (or plain, all purpose flour, pastry, spelt, or even oat flour)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2c brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin or pureed sweet potato) 
• 3 tbsp oil (You can omit, but be warned: the brownies will be gummy) 
• 2 tbsp milk of choice 
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 

How To:

1. Make your own fresh pumpkin puree, further instructions here. 
2. Combine dry ingredients, and mix very well. 
3. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry.
4. Pour into a greased pan (it will fill up half an 8×8).
5. If you have left over pumpkin puree, put a few spoonfuls on the top and swirl it around.
6. Cook for about 23 minutes at 330 F (170 C) or until a tooth pick comes out clean when you poke the middle.

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Recipe Share: "Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad"

I just wanted to quickly share with you a great recipe I found while searching for some kale salad inspiration. It's yummy and it's super easy to make!

Skip the kale massage, and pull out your food processor.

This "Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad" by Food Babe is a hit with those that I've made it for. Even the boyfriend highly rates it! So try it out and let me know how much you like it.

Recipe as follows:
Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad 
 Prep time 10 mins | Total time 10 mins

Author: Food Babe
Serves: 2

You'll need: 

• 1 bunch of lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry 
• ⅓ cup currants, or chopped raisins (I left these out since I don't really like raisins)
• juice of one lemon 
• 1 tbsp of olive oil 
• 1 tsp local honey (adjust to your liking)
• ½ cup pine nuts toasted salt and pepper to taste 
• 4 tbsp grated raw parmesan cheese 

How to: 

1. In a food processor, process kale into small chopped pieces
2. To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl 
3. Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing 
4. Stir all ingredients together and serve 
5. (Optional – Save some pine nuts and/or parmesan cheese for top of salad before serving for presentation purposes) 

Notes **Choose all organic ingredients if possible**

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Chocolate Cake with Zucchini?? Yum!!

I've always wanted to try and make a chocolate zucchini cake. And when I had a bunch of zucchini kicking around in my fridge, I decided to give it a try. I found a recipe with high ratings on All Recipes, read some of the reviews and after a few of my own modifications, it was time to start baking!

To my surprise, the cake turned out perfectly! It was absolutely moist and chocolatey and I didn't feel as guilty having a piece.. or two (with all that zucchini and some of the modifications to try and make it semi-healthy haha). The original recipe uses 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil and 2 cups of sugar!! Yikes! So, I swapped a cup of oil for plain fat-free yogurt (some reviewers used apple sauce), to cut down the fat, and cut out 1 cup of sugar.

The second time I made it, was for Shane's 30th birthday party (kept the decorating to a minimal, as you can see (but it probably was because I iced the cake after a few drinks - during the party lol). Anyway, those that had a piece said they really liked it so yay!

I totally forgot to take a good photo of a the finished product and a slice of cake, but I'm sure you all know what a moist, chocolate cake looks like!

So, here is my version of a Chocolate Zucchini Cake:
(adapted from this recipe)

Prep Time: 15 | Cook Time: 50 min | Servings: 24

You'll need:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 2/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp plain/greek yogurt
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

How to:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Add the eggs and oil, yogurt, vanilla, mix well. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Note: This cake freezes really well. Wrap tightly with aluminium foil then plastic freezer wrap or place in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It stores for 4-6 months.  

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From Leftovers to Newovers: Creamy Curried Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Soup

Now that's a mouthful! Let's hear you say that 3 time fast! Haha

Today I'm introducing a theme for my blog: 'From Leftovers to Newovers.' When I was as kid, I didn't really like eating any leftovers from the fridge. Now, I've grown to like leftovers and I enjoy finding leftovers to create 'newovers' (does that work?? It's going to be a thing I tell ya haha!). I like to try to use up all the odds and ends I find in the fridge to come up with an new dish. Whether it be a bowl of rice, half a jar of sauce, veggies that are just about to go bad, or a bowl of butter chicken, it's fun to try and figure out what you can make with it all - kind of like my very own little Master Chef challenge. Once it's cooked up, it will last a couple more days in the fridge. Unless of course it's been eaten up, which is even better!

So instead of letting stuff in the fridge go to waste, try to find ways to use it up and you might end up with something delicious and maybe even a new recipe. Trying to find ways to combine ingredients that you wouldn't normally combine, is the challenging part but also fun part because you get to be creative and experiment! It's so rewarding when you've successfully made a nice meal and knowing that you got the most out of your money and groceries.

Here's my version of a curried cauliflower soup with my leftovers, but feel free to improvise your version!

Oods and ends findings: cauliflower and half a jar of butter chicken sauce.
What I turned it into: creamy curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup!

Tip: Having a well stocked pantry (as Jamie Oliver likes to say), helps for turning odds and ends into something yummy.

Serves: 4 to 6

You'll need: 

• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped 1 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 500ml chicken/vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp curry powder, 
• butter chicken sauce (if you have it kicking around like I did, if not you can substitute with 1 tbsp of curry powder / curry paste)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (1 tsp if you like some more heat)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 can coconut cream (optional, but recommended)
• salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1. In a large sauce pan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and sauté the onions until softened, about 5 minutes. If it starts to burn, add a tbsp of water.
2. Add cauliflower, sweet potato, chicken stock, spices, butter chicken sauce and if needed, add just enough water so the vegetables are just submerged. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.
3. Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat. Using a stick blender, purée until creamy and smooth. 
4. Return to heat and if it's too thick, thin with more stock if desired, add coconut cream (optional). Salt and pepper to taste. Heat for a few minutes until hot.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley or cilantro. 

Tip: Alternatively you can use a light cream instead of coconut cream. The soup is pretty good with out the cream but the coconut cream and curry go so well together and gives it that extra creaminess. 

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