teacups and cinnamon

Wow, it's been a long time! Last time I shared a recipe was back in February, when I was in the middle of midterms and getting ready for Valentines Day! Six months have passed, and I am finally back. Although I'm not making any promises. Whenever I do, I fail miserably. So right now, my blog posts will be random surprises ;). Since then, I have finished classes at SPU, began an online accounting class (which I am almost finished with!) and started a new job. The job is probably the main reason for my absence, as it is keeping me busy, making me tired and providing me with food... which means I have not been cooking as much as I should be. 

But I'm back. Still working, but a lot less than I was in the middle of summer. Which means more time to cook and eat at home. Yay! Lately, and sadly, I've been having a lot of heavier, more rich foods. I ate deeeelicious bbq pork ribs for about a week, last week. (I'll share that recipe someday). I wanted needed something light. So I decided to make some soup. And not just some soup. The best vegetarian vegetable soup ever. Minestrone soup.

I've talked about the SPU Community Kitchen quite a few times on my blog. That's because A) I was involved with the organization for a year, and B) I got a WHOLE bunch of delicious recipes from it. We had a pretty extensive process choosing recipes. They had to be healthy and wholesome, inexpensive, and most importantly, easy to make. The volunteers (and I) searched for recipes, selected potential recipes and then tested the recipes, choosing the best ones. We then would scale them up for 25+ people and prepare them during our monthly kitchen nights. 

And the dishes we made during the kitchen were amazing! They were always a little different. Always had a twist to them. And that's what I liked the most. For example, we didn't just make simple cornbread, we made cornbread pudding (recipe here). One of our monthly kitchen theme's was chili cook off, and instead of traditional chili, we made all sorts of chilies, such as black bean espresso chili, cumin chili, and my favorite, pumpkin turkey chili. It was the definite favorite of most of the participants that night, especially mine. 

The pumpkin in this chili is what takes this dish to a whole other level. Though you can't really taste it, but the texture it gives the chili is superb. It becomes creamy and thick, and slightly sweet. It's also pretty cool knowing that there is pumpkin in the chili. It's high in vitamin A, potassium and other vitamins and minerals. It's also high in fiber. So along with the beans, the chili is a good source of dietary fiber! Pumpkin is also low in calories.

Using lean turkey instead of beef is another way to cut back on calories and fat. You can't even taste the difference because of all the spices. My husband even made a comment about it, saying that it tasted really good with turkey. Personally, I have never actually used beef in chili (so I don't really know how that tastes), because I am satisfied with the turkey. If you're a beef person, I encourage you to try replacing it with turkey. It can really make a difference in your health (a good one too!)

As you can see, pumpkin isn't only for desserts and lattes. It can easily be put into chilies and soups. Pumpkin also doesn't have to always be associated with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices. This chili recipe actually doesn't have any of that stuff, though if you're courageous you can definitely add some  ;) You are the boss of your cooking, after all. Now that it's fall and pumpkins are everywhere, go and try this recipe! You will not be disappointed! Click "read more" for more pictures as well as the awesome recipe! Enjoy! :)

Every summer, my mom's and aunt's garden is over flooding with cucumbers. Cucumbers (and tomatoes) are pretty much our main food source of the summer. We eat them a million different ways. Fresh, pickled, in salads, on sandwiches, etc. You get the point. WE LOVE CUCUMBERS!  My mom always makes Russian-styled pickles. They're a little different, salty, dilly, vinegary, yet not as tart as American-style pickles. Definitely not sweet! Though the Russian pickles are something I grew up with and something I enjoy every once in a while, my all-time favorite pickles are bread and butter pickles! 

To be honest, I didn't actually try bread and butter pickles till this last June. I know what you're thinking, how in the world did you live your entire life without eating these delicious things?! I ask myself that too. I had always just stuck to boring old dill pickles. But then my life changed. And now I don't want boring old dill pickles. Now I only want sweet and tangy, crunchy and crispy bread and butter pickles. These crunchy pickles just go so well with everything. I even eat them on their own as a snack! (i think i've gone pickle-crazy, lol). 

So when I saw Chef John's post about bread and butter pickles on my newsfeed, I got SO excited! I had never even considered making my own pickles (even though I grew up watching people around me pickling all. the. time.) Just for some reason, the thought of making pickles never entered my mind. Because my mom's garden was overflowing with cucumbers, I decided to give Chef John's recipe a try. I also tried Recipe Girl's recipe to see which one was better (since i had sooooo many cucumbers!). Out of the two I tried, Chef John's was the clear winner. The other one was too apple-cider-vinegary for my liking and it just wasn't as flavorful as Chef John's. I think his recipe is perfect.

Technically, I didn't actually can these. I didn't want to deal with that (maybe next summer). I just made refrigerator pickles. So I don't know exactly how long these will last in the refrigerator, but that's not even really a problem. My husband and I eat these like candy! So they'll be gone before the month ends. You could easily can these using the water bath method. I definitely will next year! 

I made these pickles twice. The first time out of curiosity and the second time because they are outrageously delicious. Yes. I just said outrageously delicious. I gave a couple jars to my inlaws, a couple jars to my family and a jar for my aunt and uncle. EVERYONE liked loved them (except for my dad--he just doesn't like sweet pickles). People were asking for the recipe. When that happens, you know you gotta blog about it! 

Although cucumber season has come to an end, you can still get successful pickles from store bought cucumbers! They would probably even be better from store bought (since you don't have to worry about bitter garden cucumbers). I hope everyone gives this recipe a try. They are really easy and  super fun to make! 

Click "read more" to see the recipe and step-by-step pictures of the process. Enjoy!