Pumpkin Peanut Butter Soup

I'd love to take credit for this one, but a friend emailed me a link from Chef In You to this recipe when I had a wierd urge to make something with peanut butter and pumpkin. This soup is simple, healthy and thick and DELICIOUS. It is now one of my favourite things...made some fresh cheese rolls to have with it and even J, who is Mr. Meh when it comes to soup, loved it. I doubled the recipe and had a few yummy easy lunches for later in the week.
I'm reposting the recipe in case the link goes away (it would be tragic):
1 c pumpkin puree
1 medium sweet potato
1/4 c peanut butter
1 T butter
~1-2 cups vegetable stock or water (to thicken to desired consistancy. I used 1 1/2)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop up the sweet potato roughly and steam until soft. Blend it into a puree. In a pan, melt the butter in low heat, then add potatoes, pumpkin and peanut butter. Add the stock/water and seasoning. Stir until it becomes smooth and well blended. Cook for about 10 minutes. Enjoy. :)

The Matchacado Smoothie

I have been bugging Geo about my new smoothie fixation, the avocado and matcha smoothie. I didn't care for avocado for a while, in part due to my Dad's horribly soggy, frequently mushy salads. (which he loves and which has sort of turned me against salads as well) But reading up on avocado, which I do like in maki rolls, I was seeing how it works to lower LDL in the bloodstream and promote HDL. They are high in fiber and rich in vitamins B, E and K and a fantastic source of potassium. (which I need, apparently) Avocados are also the subject of research for diabetes and high blood pressure treatments.
Matcha is a fine powdered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. Matcha is said to have a positive affect on cholesterol in the blood stream, is high in antioxidants and rich in beta-carotene. I have been drinking Matcha for a while and prefer it unsweetened.
An old Filipino co-worker of mine suggested blending avocado in milk, as it was one of favourite things. That didn't quite do it for me, so I left off it for a while. After reading about the health benefits of avocados, I decided to try and make the avocado smoothie again. For whatever reason, it occurred to me that matcha would work with avocado. It did, but it needed a bit of honey. So far so good. Last week I started adding walnuts, (also very good for you) which work really well. Today I added the selled hemp seeds I picked up yesterday and tt all works fine together.
Today I will pick up some almond milk and use it in conjunction with regular milk, as the avocado does thicken things up considerably and more liquid is needed than with anything else, like bananas.

- Magnus

Apricot pecan oat muffins. Yum.

New muffin I made up last night for a week of relatively healthy snacking...which likely will NOT last the week...heh heh. Before I forget, here is the ingredients for the most delish concoction I've thought up lately...and not too unhealthy either:

Mix the following together and let sit 5 min:
~1/4 c diced dried apricots (I suppose you could use cranberries or *shudder* raisins if you like)
~1/4 c roughly chopped pecans
1/2 c oatmeal
1 1/4 c milk

Then stir in:
1/4 c oil (I know - not the best - but if you healthify baking too much it doesn't keep it's bakiness more than a day or so. As a former baker I refuse to eat crappy baking...you can cut it back a bit more or use melted coconut oil instead for a more healthy fat, but don't say I didn't warn you not to overhealthify)
1/3 applesauce (or 1 mashed up banana would work too I suppose)
2 eggs
1/2c brown sugar (or agave syrup or maple syrup if ya have it)
1t cardamom AND cinnamon
A few shakes of nutmeg
1 t vanilla

Stir in until JUST mixed:
2 c flour (don't go more than 1/2 whole wheat or they'll be bricks)
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes until they bounce back when tapped on top and are starting to brown up.How can you tell I sort of bake by ear. Years of being a baker have made me rather experimental with things like muffins. I loves me my muffins...

I'm working one with espresso and sunnyboy cereal and dates...I will perfect them eventually and post them. It's a tasty process! :)