Rich Man's Toasted Walnut Pesto Pasta

...you'll be rich from all money you didn't spend on the pine nuts and Cuisinart.  Traditionally, a pesto is made in a cuisinart with a lot of olive oil, pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  I wanted to simplify the recipe and see if it tasted just as good without the cuisinart, loads of oil and parm cheese.   It was awesome! I think this will become a staple because of how easy and delicious and healthy it is!  Yay for new staples!

Clean and Green

 I know I'm behind the times a bit on this, but I'm finally putting to rest the harmful chemicals that I've grown so fond of cleaning with.  No more bleach, lysol, scrubbing bubbles, windex, pine sol or....I can't believe I'm about to say this....cleanser.  I have five animals - three cats and two dogs - so I've been reluctant to switch to green cleaning products because I relied on the overwhelming swimming pool scent to cover the unwanted scents - and I thought green products just wouldn't cut it.  This past Wednesday, however, I became a believer.  If Michael hadn't stopped me, I would've wiped down every single wall in my house.  I found joy in the household activity I typically loathe with a passion.  When I bought it, I thought it was a splurge because of how expensive it was.  But it's ultra concentrated and you only use 1⁄4 cup per gallon.  My eyes weren't burning, my hands didn't feel like I had just dipped them in acid, and I didn't bleach my favorite pair of sweatpants.  My house smelled like the crisp clean log cabin in the snowy hills of Vermont I wish I had.  And of all the concoctions I've developed to get rid of animal smell, this worked the best!  I used a 1⁄4 cup of Meyer's clean day, a couple splashes of vinegar (a natural disinfectant) and a 1⁄4 cup of natural pet enzyme cleaner.  Voila!

Lentil Loaf with Truffle Scented Mushroom Gravy

Ok, I'm kinda really proud of this recipe.  I created it without the help of someone else's recipe, and I have to say, it DELISH!  I tested it out on some friends last night and it was a huge success.  I'm going to serve it in honor of the bird that will be happily frolicking in a meadow and not laying on my table :)  It's a lot of ingredients, but it's Thanksgiving!  I'm going to make this a day in advance so I can just pop it in the oven on Thursday.  Sorry, I'm not able to get a picture up til Friday - we ate the whole thing last night!

PUMPKIN BREAD!!!

Of all the recipes I've posted, I'm most excited about this one.  Every year since he was about 7, my wonderful husband has been in charge of making the holiday pumpkin bread.  This year, he as been tirelessly working to create the perfect vegan version of his famous classic.  After about 4 different loaves, he's finally found THE ONE!  It's light, fluffy, moist, sweet, pumpkinny, and the most delicious bread I think I've ever had.  The only other bread that could compete would be my dad's zucchini bread.  I seriously considered not posting this because I've always wanted a stellar secret recipe, but Michael insisted I share it with everyone :)  He's too nice.  Remember that baking is a science, so you want to follow this recipe like the straight A student you always wished you could be ;)

Indian Dahl

Not only will your taste buds be giddy, your heart will thank you too! This delicious recipe is from Caldwell B. Esselstyn's book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  There's some chopping that has to be done, but you basically throw it all in one pot and let it cook.  It's super easy!

 If served with brown rice, it serves 6.  If not, it probably serves 4

Ingredients
2 1⁄2 cups lentils (any color)
5 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes with green chilis (OR 1 tomato, chopped, and 1 jalepeno
1 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp curry powder (optional)
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 carrot, shredded (or about 12 baby carrots, shredded)
1 bell pepper (any color), finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped

Chili

 I love chili on a chili fall day ;) This is a basic recipe that is amazing on it's own but can also be pimped out to your liking.  Michael likes to add celery but I am anti-celery unless it has peanut butter and raisins on it :) You could also add a zucchini, red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, butternut squash, etc... This is also a recipe where you get to call upon your inner chef.  I'm a flavor lover, so I usually go heavy on the spices and add a little more than what's listed here.  But start with these amounts, let your chili simmer for a couple minutes to let the spices incorporate, and then test it and go from there.  I know this recipe looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but besides chopping the onion and whatever veggies you decide on, the rest is just canned goods and spices that get thrown in.  Plus it's a one-pot meal! My FAVORITE!  

If you want to get really creative, sometimes Michael and I turn it into a cornbread-n-chili casserole.  Reduce the simmer time for the chili to 5 minutes, pour into a large casserole dish, top with the your favorite cornbread batter (stay tuned for a cornbread recipe -still trying to perfect it), and bake according to the cornbread's instructions.  Super yummy and fun!

Chef Peter

My amazing "little" brother (10 years younger and 3 inches taller) has recently discovered the joy of cooking.  As a varsity soccer player on one of the best soccer teams in the state, he realized he needed to be filling his body with clean burning fuel that would enhance his performance on the field.  With no prior cooking experience and hardly any help from the 'rents he has mastered several of the recipes on this blog! He's even leading the grocery shopping expeditions to shop for the intriguing ingredients that are new to him.  So if you're timid to delve into cooking delicious and healthy meals, you can look to this amazingly good looking and super cool 16 (I mean 9?) year old guy -who totally takes after his older sister- for inspiration.  His latest endeavor: Peanut Butter Eggs!

 Me and Pete when he won his Eastern PA Challenge Cup championship! 

Cheers, Bill!

Wolf Blitzer interviews President Bill Clinton as he explains his change in diet after his bypass surgery.

Click here to view the video.