2015

Pumpkin Picks

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It may still be warm in Texas, but it’s still pumpkin season. With Halloween tomorrow, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pumpkin treats I’ve found at Trader Joe’s this year.

I’ve been starting my mornings with the Pumpkin Spice coffee, which is seriously delicious. Lots and lots of flavor and I don’t have to add my own spices. I typically add cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg to most coffees, but this one is so good as is. I drop in some of the organic half and half from Trader Joe’s as well.

I was not so sure about the honey roasted pumpkin ravioli, but—wow—was it delicious. I thought it would pair well with a nice brown butter sage sauce, but since I didn’t have sage on hand and I did have some tomato sauce and veggie Italian sausage I needed to use up, I decided to go against my better judgment and use a red sauce. Luckily, it turned out so good. I also added a few basil leaves from my indoor plant and some burrata cheese (like mozzarella, but scrumptious, creamy goodness inside.) for good measure. I really truly loved every bite.

And then there’s the Pumpkin O’s. These are more subtle if the full-on pumpkin flavors are not for you. They remind me of Apple Jacks a little bit, with more of a fall taste. Very simple and tasty for a quick breakfast.

If you have any pumpkin favorites of your own, please pass them along.

Happy Halloween!

National Margarita Day 2015

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Hey Spooners!

Today is a special day! In Texas, National Margarita Day is a great reason to stop, relax and enjoy some tequila.

Maybe you need a great recipe for your Oscar party tonight!

Our friends at Milagro Tequila are here to rescue you and make you look like a real mixologist in front of your friends.

Below are a couple of great recipes that I am going to try tonight! Tell us your thoughts on the recipes below!

Agua Verde

Agua Verde

Agua Verde

1.5 parts Milagro Silver

0.25 parts Avocado

1 part Fresh Lime Juice

0.75 parts Agave Nectar

3 Cucumber Slices

1 Lime Wheel garnish

 

Directions: Combine ingredients and blend with one cup of ice. Pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

 

Mexican Garden

Mexican Garden

Mexican Garden

2 parts Milagro Silver

1 part Fresh Lime Juice

0.5 parts Light Agave Nectar

2 parts Pineapple Juice

1 Pineapple Leaf garnish

1 Lime Wheel garnish

1 Cilantro Leaf garnish

 

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake, strain, and pour over fresh ice into rocks glass. Garnish with a pineapple left, lime wheel and a cilantro leaf.

Looking Back at 2014

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YearinReviewIn an attempt to see where we’re at with OhSpooning and what we’ve been up to this past year, I have categorized all our posts. Sometimes it’s hard to answer that seemingly easy question, “And what exactly do you blog about?” we get repeatedly asked at food blogging events and in general.

We typically go into a long drawn out monologue about how we mainly focus on cocktails. Or we do a quick murmur about how it’s a little bit of everything.

But, if we’re honest, we don’t really have a great explanation. So, here’s my attempt at grasping what we’ve written to see where we’ve been and what we want to focus on a little more this year. We’ll be taking a look to see what interested our readers most, so if you have any ideas about what you’d like to see more of, please leave a comment below. We’d love your feedback!

Note: Some are repeats because they fell into two categories.

Recipes

All About Cocktails and Drinks

Events

Cooking & Baking

Food Adventures

Reviews

Food News

Childhood Memories Series

The most surprising thing I found in all of this? That we posted so much! In 2013, we were struggling to get any posts up, but this year, we rocked it. We’re looking forward to bringing you more food adventures in 2015. Cheers!

Recipe: Crockpot Italian Chili for Cold Days and Nights

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This recipe I came up with by mistake. I was planning on making plain old vegetarian chili, but after I got back from the store I realized I was missing the main ingredient: Chili powder. How did I not have chili powder? Have you seen my spice drawer??

spice drawer

Anyway, I did not want to go back out in the cold—it’s too cold in Austin right now. I know. I know. Us Southerners can’t take the cold. That’s why we live here!

So, I decided to take the recipe I had and use the seasoning I had on hand, which were mainly Italian spices and it turned out really well.

So, here you go: Crockpot Italian Chili for Cold Days and Nights

Crockpot Italian ChiliCrockpot Italian Chili for Cold Days and Nights

  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
  • 1 can red kidney beans
  • 1 packet of Grill Mates tomato, garlic and basil marinade (or make your own seasoning with  a mix of basil, oregano and garlic powder)
  • Salt to taste

Pasta (optional): Choose a pasta, such as angel hair, and cook according to directions just before serving chili.

Optional toppings:

  • Grated cheese
  • Sour cream

Throw in all ingredients in a crockpot, except toppings, and mix well. Leave in for 3 hours to do its thing. Serve in bowl over pasta and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and grated cheese (if using). Serve with crackers, cornbread or your bread of choice.

Notes: You can saute the onions in garlic before adding if you want, but I found the onions turned out well without this extra step.

I ate the chili with and without the pasta and loved it both ways, so it just depends on whether you want it to feel like a spaghetti sauce or more of an nontraditional chili.

This recipe is sure to warm your spirits on a cold day and the smell in your home as go you about your chores is wonderful. Enjoy!

How to Keep Your Foodie Resolutions

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NewYearsGoalsandResolutionsUs foodophiles love to add things like “cook more” and “bake more” to our list of things to do more of in the New Year. Or maybe you just want to try some new foods in 2015. Whatever your goals, they’re probably totally doable. The hard part is putting an action plan in place.

This is how to go about making your goals, resolutions, whatever you want to do, come true this year.

1. Make it specific. Do you want to go through the whole Joy the Baker Cookbook? Do you want to eat five new fruits? Do you want to visit every gastropub in Austin? The choice is yours, but you have to know exactly what you are wanting to do or it will be very difficult to accomplish your goal.

2. Now that you know what you want to do, figure out how to do it. Say you do want to make every recipe in a book. Count how many recipes are in the cookbook and divide by the numbers of months or the number of weeks to determine how many recipes you should make each week or month depending on whether you want a very strict plan or more of a guideline. You know yourself better than I do, so you’ll be able to figure out which is needed on your own (Trial and error helps).

3. Share your goal. This really helps with follow through. Maybe start a blog to show your progress and let friends follow along. Maybe start a Twitter account for your resolutions or goals.

I know I’ve been using goals and resolutions interchangeably, but here’s the difference:

Goals are something you want to accomplish and have a beginning and an end.

Resolutions are something you want to start doing or quit doing. More like a habit.

I think it’s great to have both.

Take a little time today to think about what you’d like to accomplish in 2015. To get you started, here are a few ideas:

  • Take a foodie trip.
  • Try an exotic dish you’ve never tried before.
  • Eat the required amount of fruits and veggies per day.
  • Stop eating milk, cheese, meat or grains.
  • Read 12 foodie books.
  • Watch the all-time top 10 foodie movies according to epicurious.

Happy New Year. I hope you all have the tastiest, sweetest, juiciest year ever!