Sugared "Donuts"

This is a fun weekend treat to do with the kiddos. It's a super easy way to get some fancy tasting donuts.  All you need is a can of biscuits, a paper lunch bag, and some spiced sugar!

What you will need:
1 can of biscuits
1/2 C of your favorite spiced sugar (we used Canela Latte and Mayan Mocha)
vegetable or coconut oil
a paper lunch bag


Directions:
Preheat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pop open your biscuits and punch out your donut holes with whatever you can find. We used the rim of a champagne glass.

Now fry your donuts and holes in small batches, making sure you cook them through without burning them. That's the tricky part that may require a little adjusting. Get your kid to shake up the hot donuts and holes with the sugar inside the paper lunch bag until they are coated, while you continue frying. Be careful of the hot oil! 

Keep frying and shaking until you coat them all with your sugars. Use different bags for different sugars if you are making a variety.  They are super easy and actually pretty delicious. It's fun to experiment with the flavors and the kids love helping!

Pumpkin Bread - with Spice Cake Sugar

Pumpkin! Yum. It seems like we look for every opportunity to eat pumpkiny things this time of year, and here's another one!  My kids absolutely love this delicious, spiced pumpkin bread. It is sweet and delicious and full of great fiber and vitamins.  If you are Supergirl, you can cook down a fresh pumpkin and scoop out the flesh and smash it up....or you can get a can! I have done both, but this time I got a can. I suppose it would also work with butternut squash or sweet potatoes, but check to see if your dough is the right consistency and add flour or water to adjust.

What you will need per loaf:

1 1/2 C Spice Cake Sugar

1/2 C vegetable oil, coconut oil, or melted butter

2 eggs

8 oz canned pumpkin

1 3/4 C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 C water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 9X5" loaf pan. Stir the sugar, oil, pumpkin, water, and eggs together until combined. Sift the dry ingredients together and gradually add and stir into the wet mixture. fill the loaf pan and bake for an hour. Check for doneness and bake a little longer if needed.  Let it stand for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool.

You could also use Signature Spiced Sugar in this if that's what you have or prefer. I bet you could use Gingerbread too! My favorite is Spice Cake because the bold Autumn spices stand up to the pumpkin without taking over.

Moroccan Meat Pies - with Moroccan Tagine spice mix

The fall has me wanting to cook again! I crave warm, stick-to-you-ribs meals with spices that remind us of the approaching holiday season.  These savory meat pies are fun to make and eat. I love the way the Moroccan Tagine Spice Mix flavors work with the sweetness of the root veggies, but you really could use any of the spice mixes you prefer or have on hand - just be sure to adjust for salt.

What you will need:
1 lb. beef skirt steak or stew meat - cut into small cubes
1/2 red or yellow onion - diced
1 baking potato - pealed and cubed
1 yam or 3 carrots - pealed and cubed
2 T Moroccan Tagine Spice Mix
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 C vegetable broth or water
salt to tate
olive oil
3 ready made, roll-out pie crusts

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 F and take your pie crusts out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
Throw the cubed veggies on a baking sheet with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast them in the oven for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, saute' your cubed meat and diced onions with a bit of olive oil until the onions are tender and your meat is cooked through. 

Stir in the tomato paste, broth, and spice mix. Cook that down for a bit until the broth has reduced into more of a sauce. Turn off the heat, cover it and let it rest while your veggies finish roasting.
Combine your meat mixture with your roasted veggies and set aside.
Now - unroll your pie crusts on a floured surface and cut each circle in half - you now have 6 pieces.

Make a mound of your filling in the center of one side of each piece. Now, fold over the other side and crimp and fold all the edges together to seal them up nice and tight.

Now you have six individual pies! Cut a slit into the tops of each for ventilation and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Bake for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven until the crust is golden brown. 

If you don't want to fuss with all the little pies, just make one big pie by tossing all that meat and veg mixture into a medium sized casserole dish and covering it with one of the whole pie crusts. Cut a slit in the top and bake it the same way. It will be just as good!

These make a fun dinner, but are also great for fall picnics and even lunch boxes! To heat up left overs, just wrap them in foil and reheat in the oven. 

Super Cereal - with Signature Spiced Sugar

Let's talk trash. What we eat for breakfast often qualifies!  No matter what they claim about fiber and this and that, pre-packaged breakfast foods are generally loaded with preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors...yuck. Here is a recipe for an all-natural, protein and nutrition packed breakfast superfood that you can make at home with all your favorite flavors!

What you will need:
1 lb oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 C of your favorite nuts and seeds (raw and unsalted)
1 C of your favorite dried fruits (unsweetened)
1/3 C Signature Spiced Sugar (or any of our other flavors!)

Directions:
Toast the oats and nuts/seeds on a baking sheet in a 350 F degree oven for 10 minutes.
Add the spiced sugar and dried fruit.
Pulse it all together in a food processor until it is as finely textured as you want it. I like mine ground up somewhere between granola and cornmeal. This way you still get some texture with the nuts and fruits but the oats are pretty well pulverized.

Um...you're done. Yep! That's it.  Now you can save it in a big container and eat it with hot or cold milk, sprinkle it on yogurt, or add it to oatmeal for a protein and flavor boost.  I like using Signature Spiced Sugar in this recipe for the orange, but you really could use whichever sugar blend you like best.  

Try mixing it up - half Mayan Mocha and half Canela Latte would be amazing!  Spice Cake and Gingerbread!  Vanilla Chai! Whichever sugar you have and like will work (except for Peppermint).

As for nuts, seeds, and dried fruits - same goes. This time I used walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, dates, raisins, and cherries.  But anything you have in the pantry, or can find for cheap in the bulk bins, will be fine.  Pistachios, pumpkin seeds, dried mango, coconut...whatever you do with it, it's going to be a tasty and nutritious start to your day!

Spiced Root Vegetable Soup - with Havana spice mix

Fall is here! Time to bring out the hearty recipes we have been missing all summer. Even though we rarely actually get cold here in Houston, who can resist a warm bowl of bisque-like soup when the temps begin to drop?
This recipe is delicious and full of the root vegetable vitamins we need to gear up for winter. Any root vegetables you have and like will do: carrots, fennel bulb, parsnips, cauliflower, golden beets, yams, potatoes...you name it.  Whatever combo you use, just make sure they taste good together and that you adjust cooking times on the roasting if needed to make them tender. Use 3-4 lbs total veg.

For this recipe, I used carrots and celery root!  Why? I like them! Celery root is basically the ugliest of all vegetables, and it's a minor pain to clean, but it's delicious! If you've never tried one, imagine a celery stalk meets a potato. Just trim and scrub it up.

What you will need:

1 celery root - cleaned and cut into 1-2" cubes

2 lbs carrots - pealed and cut into chunks

1 large shallot or small yellow onion - pealed and cut into chunks

2 large garlic cloves - skin on

6 C vegetable broth

1-2 T Moroccan Tagine or Havana spice mix

1/2 C cream, creme fraise, or sour cream (coconut milk for vegan!)

olive oil

additional salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degree F.
Throw all of your cut up veg into a baking pan except the garlic.  Toss veg with a splash of olive oil and 1 T of spice mix.  Roast veg in the oven for 20 minutes. Add the garlic and roast another 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Squeeze the garlic right out of its skins into the other roasted veg. careful - it's hot!  

Could you eat them just like this?  Oh ya. Right here you already have a wonderful side dish! But hey - we want soup....

Blend all your roasted veg with 6 C of vegetable stock. I used an emersion blender, but whatever gets the job done is fine.  You could use water or chicken broth, but you may need to adjust your seasoning. Taste it. Add salt or more spice mix if desired. 

Before you serve, stir in 1/2 C cream and garnish with something pretty: fennel fronds, chopped parsley, crusty croutons, toasted cashews...
You won't be disappointed. This one will hit the spot when you need to cozy up with something hearty and healthy. We served ours for dinner with loaded baked potatoes.  In a bigger bowl you'd have a meal all by itself with a nice crusty piece of bread.  Bon appetit!

Introducing for Fall: Canela Latte Sugar!

Canela is the name for Mexican cinnamon! Sweet and smooth with a kiss of anise and rounded out with vanilla, this sugar is easy to love.  Try it in coffee, cocoa, fruit compote, cinnamon toast, and all sorts of baking.

Contains: sugar, cinnamon, espresso powder, vanilla bean, star anise.

Lemon-Lavender Welch Cakes

These delicious, summery shortbreads are really not that hard to make and are well worth the little effort they require.  They are fancy, quick, and very, very tasty! 

What you will need:

2 C self-rising flour (or 2 C AP flour + 1 tsp salt + 1 T baking powder)

1 stick of cold, unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

2/3 C lemon-lavender sugar

1 large egg

2 T sour cream (or a few splashes of milk)

Heat a cast-iron skillet over med heat.  Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the cold butter cubes and crumble it all together with your hands until it reaches a fine breadcrumbs consistency.  Make a well in your flour mixture and add the egg and sour cream/milk.  Combine with a fork until it starts to come together. Now use your hands to bring it together into a shortbread-type dough. Don't over work it - just get it together into a ball.  Roll your dough out onto a floured surface to a thickness of 1 cm. Cut the dough into circles with a biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or mason jar lid. Add a bit of oil or butter to your pan and cook the rounds on both sides in batches for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Flip several times in the process to make sure they aren't burning and adjust your heat if needed. Now dust them with powdered sugar, plop some jam on them, or sandwich them with berries and cream! Any way you serve them, they are great for tea time, snacks, breakfast, or dessert.