Fall Recipes

Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Banana Bread

November 18, 2017 by The Partial Ingredients

I love how banana bread can take so many forms. The recipe varieties are pretty much endless! For this recipe I got it into my head that I wanted a “pumpkin spiced latte” inspired recipe–because let’s be honest, I am a coffee addict. The funny thing is I have literally never ordered that drink at coffee places ever. Pumpkin spice and coffee, however, seemed like they would lend themselves really well into a bread recipe. And lend themselves they did! I am a huge fan of this flavor combination and pumpkin spice is the perfect blend for this time of year. Another thing to note however is there is NO pumpkin in pumpkin spice. Just like the coffee drink (spoiler alert: yes there is no pumpkin in that either). So, if you’re looking for actual pumpkin in a banana bread, try this recipe instead.

I used a bit of espresso powder with a half cup of strongly brewed regular coffee, so the coffee flavor is pretty strong with this one. If you have no espresso powder you can actually grind your regular coffee grounds in a spice/coffee grinder to get it really fine, just like espresso powder! I wouldn’t use regular coffee grounds as they are way too grainy for this recipe. The spice blend is a mixture of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg which is perfect for this time of year! I tend to enjoy banana bread in the morning (with my coffee of course!) so I like it to be a little less sweet. I reduced the granulated sugar to 1/4 cup but for a recommended amount of sweetness I have the recipe at 1/2 cup. If you’d like it more sweet you can increase the granulated sugar to 3/4 cup–it’s really up to you!

Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Banana Bread

A delicious pumpkin spiced banana bread made for coffee lovers!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Calories 1200 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter melted
2 or 3 over-ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar can be reduced or increased by 1/4 cup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp espresso powder or finely ground coffee
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan.
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl.
Mix together the bananas, melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, coffee, egg, spices and espresso/coffee powder.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture.
Stir in the flour, mixing lightly until just combined.
Pour the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350F (or until a toothpick comes out clean from center).

Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup

November 5, 2017 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s soup season which also means it’s cold and flu season as well–oh joy! But it’s alright, this recipe will help get us through it. This recipe’s feature is the roasting chicken. Roasting a whole fryer chicken in the oven at a low temperature results in fall apart tender meat every time. The rest of the soup ingredients cook alongside the roasting chicken at a low temperature until both are ready to be combined at the end. It’s a match made in soup heaven!

There is a hefty dose of veggies in every bowl, namely bell peppers, spinach and carrots to name a few. The balsamic vinegar adds a hint of tangy and sweet to the broth. Use homemade chicken or vegetable stock for this, especially if you’re feeling under the weather as it will help kick your cold faster. I used brown rice but you can substitute in noodles, quinoa, pearl couscous or just a crunchy baguette for dunking. Whatever floats your boat–it will likely be delish. As always, I like to cook my starch separate (especially if it’s rice) and add a serving to each bowl just before eating. It really helps preserve that valuable broth for dinner the next day. If you miss the flavor of the soup in the rice, cook the rice in chicken stock instead of water. I garnished each bowl with shaved parmesan from the rind but a savory romano cheese would be perfect as well.

Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup

A perfect cold weather chicken soup full of comforting veggies and flavor.

Course Main Course, Soup

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 450 kcal

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1 whole chicken 4-5 lb.
1 tbsp Lemon Pepper seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil

For the soup:

3 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion chopped
3 bell peppers yellow or red, diced
5 carrots diced
5 celery diced
1 tbsp thyme dried
1 tbsp oregano dried
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic minced
5 handfuls fresh spinach diced
15 to 16 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 cans tomato paste 6 oz. cans
2 tsp Lemon Pepper seasoning
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 servings cooked brown or white rice 1/2 cup dry = 1 serving
6 servings shaved parmesan for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a glass pan, add the chicken and cover in olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, and garlic powder. Cover with foil and cook 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature reads 170F.
While the chicken is cooking, add butter, onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers and garlic to a large 6 qt. stock pot. Cover and cook until softened about 7 minutes.
Stir in the oregano, thyme, pepper flakes, lemon pepper seasoning. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar and tomato paste. Cook another minute until the paste has melted.
Stir in the broth. Turn up the temperature until the soup reaches a low simmer and then turn it down to the lowest heat setting.
You can add the spinach now or you can wait until the last half hour of cooking. I prefer adding it in at this stage. Cook for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning.
During the last 15 minutes, cook the rice as directed on the package.
When the chicken is done, remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.
When the chicken has cooled, shred the meat with a pair of forks and remove the skin.
Combine the chicken with the soup, stir to combine. Cook another 5 minutes or so.
Ladle a serving of rice into individual bowls and pour in the soup, stir to combine. Garnish with parmesan or romano cheese.

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Black Walnut & Bourbon Spiced Apple Cider

October 7, 2017 by The Partial Ingredients

‘Tis the season for one of my favorite cocktails–spiced apple cider with a bit of a kick to it. This cocktail is super simple and delicious. I bet it would taste great warmed up but I haven’t tried it out yet. The secret to giving this drink a proper finish is the combination of bitters. Of course there’s angostura in the mix but the unique flavor actually comes from the black walnut bitters. I haven’t seen it sold in stores but you can find it online (I’d recommend checking out Amazon or Bevmo).

In addition to the spiced seasonal flavor that the apple cider and angostura bitters provide, I love the nutty, sweet flavor from the black walnut bitters. If you aren’t able to find it around, just the angostura and cider can suffice. It probably won’t have the same complexity or depth of flavor though. You can also do your own experimenting if you have other bitters on hand. I’d imagine orange or cardamom bitters would be great in this drink too!

Black Walnut & Bourbon Spiced Apple Cider

A delicious autumnal beverage with spiced apple cider, bourbon and black walnut bitters!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings 1 Cocktail

Calories 250 kcal

Ingredients

2 oz. Bourbon or Rye Whiskey
4 oz. Spiced apple cider I used Trader Joe's
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2-3 dashes Fee Brother's Black Walnut bitters
3-4 ice cubes
1 twist of lemon or orange peel

Instructions

In a rocks glass, add the bourbon or rye whiskey.
Add a few dashes of each bitters and give the glass a stir.
Add the ice and then the apple cider and give the glass another stir.
Taste and adjust ingredients as desired. Garnish with a lemon or orange peel.

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‘Flu Fighting’ Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup with Chickpeas

November 8, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup with Chickpeas

Cold and flu season has officially hit and I thought I would post one of my favorite sickness fighting powerhouses. Whether you’re making soup to prevent future illness or currently in the throws of a nasty bug, this recipe is for you! While most kids would disagree, the most nutritious stuff for you really can be delicious as well. This soup is full of anti-inflammatory fighting ingredients that may also help with sinus congestion, nausea and sore throats. Turmeric, garlic, lemon and ginger are a few of these heroic ingredients and they just happen to be delicious. I like to use my own chicken stock for this since it offers its own set of health boosting ingredients. While you can make the rice and add it into the soup after it’s done cooking you can also make single servings for each bowl as you go. The benefit to making smaller servings is that it won’t soak up all the broth as it sits in the fridge. This recipe has become a favorite of mine especially when I start to feel like I’m coming down with something for a quick immune system boost.
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Slow Cooker Beef & Bacon Stew with Sourdough Croutons

October 16, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s already mid-October and the first rains of the wet season in California have started. The weather just makes me wants to snuggle up with a comforting bowl of something out of the slow cooker. This recipe hits the spot for all of the above! Flavored with savory herbs like fennel and thyme, this stew is packed with flavor. I especially like the bite of acid that comes from the Worcestershire and red vine vinegar. While this is optional, I like serving this stew with toasted sourdough croutons. The croutons soak up the flavorful broth and are just really delicious. If you’d rather go lower carb however, you can skip the croutons. You can also turn this recipe into more of a soup by adding a few more cups of stock to get a thinner consistency. The fact that this is a slow cooker recipe makes this stew simple and easy to throw together on week nights. I like to garnish each bowl with Parmesan, Romano or an aged white cheddar.
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Wild Rice Soup with Bacon and Butternut Squash

December 18, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

For the winter months nothing beats a hot bowl of wild rice soup! I tend to avoid creamy soups due to their heaviness but I decided to give it a try. In the past I’ve made it as a broth-based soup instead of cream-based. Even though it doesn’t skimp on the cream and bacon, it wasn’t especially heavy which was surprising. I made this recipe with the leftover bones I froze from the Thanksgiving turkey. The recipe for homemade stock (swap out chicken for turkey) can be found here. The soup is also packed with butternut squash, corn and other veggies. For the rice, I decided to save the broth and not add it into the soup as it cooked; that way the rice didn’t absorb all the tasty broth. I really liked how this turned out and it was a perfect recipe for the holidays!
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Roasted Winter Vegetables with Butternut Squash

November 2, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Well it’s November and officially a few weeks away from Thanksgiving! This recipe is a great side dish for the holidays even though it’s difficult to think they are right around the corner. I even saw some Christmas commercials come on the other day which was pretty hard to believe. This recipe combines potatoes, beets and butternut squash tossed in olive oil and roasted with garlic and fresh herbs. It doesn’t get much easier than that! The flavors from each vegetable came together perfectly. Works well as a holiday side dish but is great for any time of the week during the winter.
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Chicken and Dumpling Soup

October 25, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Who doesn’t love a warm bowl of soup on chillier evenings? Since it’s starting to get darker and the winter months are on their way I thought chicken and dumpling soup would be an appropriate post for the season. The dumplings are so easy to make since the shape of the dough balls don’t matter at all. You simply drop spoonfuls of dough into the hot broth and it does all the work for you. The more lumpy and asymmetrical the better! The dumplings are seasoned with fresh herbs and parmesan which really adds to their flavor. I went with homemade chicken stock since it tastes better than store bought and makes the soup more nutrient rich. I chose chicken breasts for the protein but thighs or even a whole roasted chicken would make great substitutes as well. I look forward to the winter months so I can whip up a batch of this again!
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Homemade Spiced Peanut Butter

October 11, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Homemade peanut butter is a great alternative to buying it from the store. You can’t get much fresher than grinding up your own peanuts! If you have a food processor you already have everything you need to make your own. This recipe takes it up a notch with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It makes for a great seasonal recipe and goes perfectly with sliced apples. I must confess that the numbers given for the salt, honey and spices are approximate. Feel free to use more less as desired. This recipe is excellent with chocolate and any jam you can think of. Or you can drop all pretense and go to town with a tablespoon. I definitely won’t judge you!
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Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

November 23, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Cranberry sauce is my favorite condiment/side dish on Thanksgiving. I really like the more creative tricks to the traditional recipe. My favorite so far has been a Gingered Cranberry Sauce, but I have tried a variation with Pinot Noir which was also very tasty. This cranberry sauce is infused with pure pomegranate juice (no cocktails please) and the combination is pretty much perfect. The pomegranate juice has a slightly sweeter flavor than the cranberries so it’s a great way to make the sauce sweeter without adding additional sugar.

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