Your Best Recipes (YBR) October Roundup, Yum and Wow!

"Trick-or-treat, smell my feet , Give me something good to eat " Happy Halloween and boy do I have something good to eat for you! Welcome everybody to the 1st edition of YBR or Your Best Recipe! First I'd like to thank all of you who have chosen to participate this month and I am looking forward to your submissions next month. To the others who are not submitting, thank you for your kind words and all of the support. I hope that perhaps you'll join us next month.

As I started receiving submissions the words that kept repeating in my mouth (and stomach) were WOW and Oh YUM! Some I was happily reminded of and others were ones I had missed. So I feel that my mission with this YBR event is on a good direction. Ladies and gentlemen here are the scrumptious, drool inducing, Your Best Recipes from October. Please stop by all of these very talented foodies' blog's and leave them a kind comment and tell them you saw their recipe on YBR. (The photos are presented in the order of which I received them. A first come first serve so to speak.)

Kristie, THE BLOOMING SPOON, Cinnamon Ricotta Cookies

Kim McDougal, Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet, COMFORTING ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

Susan, COOK WITH SUSAN, Feather Rolls

Shirley, ENRICHING YOUR KID!, Dal/Lentils

Tigerfish, AN ESCAPE TO FOOD, Roasted Cauliflower Naan Pizza

Alisha,Adam and Grely, THE ARDENT EPICURE, Stuffed Baked Apples with Apple Velouté

Lady Fromage, LADY FROMAGE, Beer Cheese Soup

Gina,What's For Dinner Across State Lines, Peanut Butter Cup Blondies & Red Velvet Cupcakes

Lisa, SWEET AS SUGAR COOKIES, Pumpkin Blondies

Anamaris, CHEF IT YOURSELF, Chicken In Beer

Conor, HOLD THE BEEF, King of Ice Cream

Rocio, APICIUS' APPRENTICE, Apple Gingerbread Cake

Maya, FOODIVA'S KITCHEN, Mont Blanc-Inspired Purple Sweet Potato Cakelets

Rita, SAGE CUISINE, Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Penny, JEROXIE (ADDICTIVE & CONSUMING), Hokkaido Chiffon

Carolyn, ALL DAY I DREAM ABOUT FOOD, Ginger Lemon Cremes (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Laura Bashar, THE FAMILY SPICE BLOG, Pumpkin Scones

Stella, THE WITCHY KITCHEN, Pumpkin Scones

Chef Dennis, MORE THAN A MOUNT FULL, It's The Great Pumpkin Cake, Charlie Brown!!

Heather, GIRLICHEF, Oktoberfest Pizza

Sommer Collier, A SPICY PERSPECTIVE, Time and Tamales

Priscilla Willis, SHE'S COOKIN', My Sukiyaki

Claudia, WHAT'S COOKING ITALIAN STYLE CUSINE, Pumpkin Spice Latte in a Crockpot for Partiesi

Miriam, THE WINTER GUEST Tortas de aceite

Evan,swEEts by E, Caramel Apple Crostada

Nancy, SPICIE FOODIE, Godfather Shpaghetti

Jacklyn, Go Vegan Meow!, Carrot Cake with Candied Walnuts

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An Award, A Game and and Update

So much to cover today, first the update. So it was brought to my attention that the code to embed the badges for the YBR event were linking to the wrong page. It has been corrected and again you can find the html codes here, YBR codes. Just a clarification, the html codes are so that you can copy the html code for the badge of your choice into your blog. The codes will load the image on to your blog and when they are clicked on will direct the person to the YBR page here on Spicie Foodie. The page will have links to all of the monthly events with your images. If you need any help/clarification, or walk through on how to install the html code please don't hesitate to ask/email me and I'd be glad to help. I have been receiving such delicious photos, don't forget to send me yours by the 30th.

And on to the award. I received the "ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD" from one of my favorite foodie and bloggers, Alisha from The Ardent Epicure. I'm sure most of you know Alisha, Adam, and Grely, the team from The Ardent Epicure. So you all know that their blog Rocks! They never seize to amaze me with their talent and mouthwatering recipes. Out of the three I've gotten to know Alisha the most, and she is one of the kindest person you will meet. She has never had anything but kind words, outpouring support, encouragement and friendship to give. She is a gem in our food blogger community. From the bottom of my heart thank you Sweetie.

There are so many I would like to pass on the award to, but this is just a very short list of some of my favorite bloggers:
Tanantha : I Just Love My Apron
Stella : The Witchy Kitchen
Jill : The Home Ground Gourmet
Penny : Jeroxie
Liv : Egg Wan's Eastern Food Odyssey
Brie: Le Grand Fromage
Patty: Patty's Food
Connor : Hold The Beef
Ruby: Tomayto Tomaahto
Miriam : The Winter Guest
Heather : Girlchef
Monet : Anecdotes and Apple Cores
Cristina: From BA to Paris
Gina: What's For Dinner Across State Lines
Sommer: A Mama With Flavor

Now the game, Tag I'm it! Raven from the delicious blog RavieNomNoms, tagged me and this is how the game is played: "You answer the 8 questions that were tagged to you. You then create 8 more questions and tag 8 people to answer them. Again, no one has to feel obligated to answer, but it is a good way to get to know your fellow bloggers" Thank you Raven! And everyone please stop by her blog, her recipes are delicious and Raven is such a sweetie.

1. What was your favorite part of this week?
 Oh this is a good one, I've had a couple things. Friday, because I got to see my very good friend Luba. She is a great person and I'm very lucky to have her in my life. Plus she got me away from the computer, which I needed badly. Tuesday, I received a package in the mail that made me very happy and can't wait to share with you guys. And also, well I don't want this to come off as me being egotistical, because I am not at all. But it totally made my day to see my Kuri Squash Corn Muffins mentioned by David Lebovitz http://t.co/PYgEIcJ, such an honor.

2. What do you like to do when you are sick?
Eat soup, drink tea, wrap a warm blanket or scarf around myself. I also like to add a little more whining about how I feel to get some extra attention, I'm evil I know. But I can't help it I have the "Marsha,Marsha!" syndrome of a middle child. For those of you that don't get it, the reference is from a show called The Brady Bunch. The middle child, Jan, was jealous of all of the attention the older child, Marsha, would receive. She felt like she didn't have attention. I have 5 siblings to take away mine :). I love that show!

3. What are you or your kids going to be for Halloween?
I only have one "kid" Panchito, the Scruffy Scrappy Terrier, and he would like to be a bucket of KFC. Original recipe, so Mommy and Daddy will fill it with lots of little original recipe bits. So he can do this↓

4. What is your favorite Holiday? and why? I think Christmas. (But not for the religious aspect, I'm a heathen even though I was raised Christian.) Why? Because for me it's more like a day for being grateful for all the wonderful things in my life. It's not about the material things or commercialization of the holiday. I wouldn't care if I didn't receive one gift. As long as I am with loved ones and they tell me they love me, that's all that matters to me and that is the greatest gift. (Cheesy I know) 


5. What cookbook do you use more than any other?
I think that would have to be my Asian cookbooks that my friend brings me from his Asian trips. Without those I wouldn't have learned so many new great dishes.

6. Are you a coffee or tea drinker?
I love both but sadly I really can't drink coffee anymore. The amount of caffeine in coffee makes me shaky and triggers my Hypoglycemia so I'm a 99% tea drinker. Don't get me wrong I love tea and it's become my comfort drink.

7. If you had to choose one style of food to eat for a month, what would it be? (ie: Italian, Mexican..) Hands-down that would be Mexican. But I mean real, authentic traditional Mexican food. Preferably prepared by my eldest sister and my Mami. Being so far from home I dream and salivate over the thought of all the delicious foods and treats from Mexican cuisine.


8. What got you to start blogging? (I am going to steal this one from Kate) A much needed distraction away from my job. I started blogging just for fun, then it turned into a "Menu" for us and now it's taken a life of it's own with many rewards and bonus in my life because of it.

My Questions:
1. Who taught you or how did you learn to cook?
2. Do you listen to music when you cook? If so what type or who is the artist?
3. What foodie gift are you asking Santa for this year? ( like a new mixer or perhaps a new camera?)
4. What is the most difficult dish you have cooked or baked?
5. Do you have a kitchen disaster that left you in tears then, but now makes you laugh? or perhaps still makes you cry?
6. What is your favorite book? Whether cookbook, biography, novel, ...
7. What is the biggest reward to you from your blog?
8. Do you have a goal or is there something you hope to accomplish with your blog?

Tag and you are it : ( Again there are so many I would like to include, but only allowed 8.)
1. Alisha The Ardent Epicure
2. Stella : The Witchy Kitchen
3. Monet : Anecdotes and Apple Cores
4. Cristina: From BA to Paris
5. Tanantha : I Just Love My Apron
6. Emily : Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
7. Karen : Tasty Trials
8. Patty: Patty's Food

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Warm Shredded Carrot Salad with Carrot Greens (Vegan)

I have a delicious new recipe to share with you today. But first I want to tell you that the YBR event has it's own permanent page with all of the information, linking codes and badges for our lovely monthly event. Check it out, it's up there on the menu bar as YBR. OK so on to the recipe. Did you know that Carrot greens or carrot tops are edible? Yuppers, they are! The other day I picked up a bunch of fresh organic carrots that were on sale with the greens still on them and I got curious, are they edible? I quickly found out that they are and in fact are quite nutritious, rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins. The carrot tops can be used raw or cooked, tossed in salads, used in soups and many other creative ways. I found this great site full of info all about carrot greens and even some recipes, it's called Carrot Museum. On this site they also wrote the following, "The leaves do contain furocoumarins that may cause allergic contact dermatitis from the leaves, especially when wet. Later exposure to the sun may cause mild photodermatitis. (This is NOT the same as 'poisonous' - it will only affect susceptible people with allergies to the plant. Some people have the same reaction to yarrow, ragwort, chamomile etc.)" I handled and cooked the greens, we both ate them and we are both still alive, so no allergies for either of us. The taste is quite strong so I would suggest that you use them sparingly at first or taste to see if it's something you like the taste of. The taste was a little bit bitter and very leafy tasting. I wouldn't say I loved the taste but I also didn't hate it. Anyways, I did really like the warm shredded carrot salad I added the greens to. It was a little sweet and a little garlicky. This is a fast and easy recipe for a great side dish or you could also eat this as a main meal. It is also vegan, healthy and low in calories without skimping on great taste. I served the salad along with steamed white rice and some sauted eggplant for a small vegan meal.

Serves 2
Ingredients:
3 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
carrot leaf greens to taste ( I used a small handful)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch or 2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3.5 ounces or 100 grams shredded cabbage
1/2 tsp. salt, adjust to taste
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground Turmeric
1 Tbs. sunflower oil

1. Heat the oil in a large pan then add the finely chopped red onion and saute until soft. Add the garlic,ginger and saute for 3 minute. Next add the shredded cabbage stir to combine with the pan ingredients, cover and allow the cabbage to soften completely. Once the cabbage is soft add the carrot and carrot leafs stirring to well combine all of the ingredients. Lastly sprinkle in the spices and stir the vegetables well. Continue to cook until the carrots have softened, about another 5 minutes. Serve as a side dish or as a main meal with some steamed white rice, it's delicious as a vegan meal or snack.

Haha, I just noticed that October has been a very orange/yellow food color month here on Spicie Foodie.

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Your Best Recipes, Join the Fun!

Hi everyone. As you may have noticed lately I haven't been sharing as many recipes or visiting many of your delicious blogs. I have been working on a big project that has many parts or small individual parts. One small part of the big project I can share with you today. For months now I have had the idea of hosting another site or a monthly roundup of the best recipes. So I've come up with this Your Best Recipes, a monthly roundup of your best recipes.

There are no limitations as to what you can submit, anything goes. The only requirements are that 1. It has to be a recipe that you published the month of the roundup, and it has to be a recipe that you feel was your favorite one posted that month. It can be anything your heart desires, there are no limits on the cooking or photography skills. This is your moment to proudly show off your dish! 2. Sign up to the roundup using the Linky form below to add your name. This is so we can get an idea of who will be joining the roundup.

3. Use either of the following badges to invite your visitors to the roundup being hosted here.
( Right click images to save or get the code here : http://picasaweb.google.com/spiciefoodie/YourBestRecipes# )

The badge below you can add a small thumb of your dish. If you need help just shoot me an email.

That's it, pretty easy! So why did I decide to host this round up? It is because there are so many talented foodies out there that can be overlooked in the mass. That is such a pity, and I would love to help you let other's see the dish you were most proud off that month.

So for this 1st edition of YBR grab your badge ahead of time. By October 30th please email me at spiciefoodie (@) gmail.com the following:

1. Your Name, Blog Name, link to your best October recipe. 2. A small image size of your dish (either 300px wide for a landscape orientation image or 300px heigh for a portrait orientation image). See sample below.

On October 31st I will post the roundup photos with a link to each of your sites. On October 31st you should post a new blog entry on your blogs with a YBR badge and a link to the roundup here on Spicie Foodie. Being that this is a new thing for me too, I know that as we go we can iron out all the little confusions or problems along the way. If you need any help or clarifications post a comment below. I am really excited to see all of your submissions, it will be a feast for our eyes! Help me spread the word and tell all of your foodie friends, thanks.

Don't forget to sign up with by clicking on the "Click Here to Enter" button below.

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Healthy Spicy Squash Spread, Vegan

Are you tired of squash yet? You are probably thinking, "oh no not another squash recipe!" I promise this will be the last Kuri squash recipe and sadly it is also the last of my stash. Who knows maybe I'll pick up another when next time I see one at my local shop or perhaps I may be over my obsession. I don't know and can't make any promises.

Often times for breakfast, brunch or as a snack I like to have a slice of bread with some sort of spread. While I try to make healthy food choices when it comes to spreads it can very difficult to find a healthy, low calorie but still tasty spread. I am a label reader and many times readying all of the fatty ingredients and preservatives turns me off on certain spreads (and many foods). I'm not going to lie to you I will still purchase the fattier spreads but only once in a while. The other day I was really craving some bread with a creamy spread, but I wanted it spicy and the usual cheese spread was just not going to cut it. So this is what I came up with, a Healthy Low-Fat Spicy Squash Spread. Oh and a great plus to the recipe is that no animals were harmed in the making of the spread. It's Vegan! So I hope my Vegetarian buddies, Alisha (The Ardent Epicure) and Stella (The Witchy Kitchen) will appreciate my attempt. Is it weird if I dedicate this recipe to you lovely ladies? hm, well I do.

One last note I would like to add is that you could also just mix all of the ingredients instead of heating and cooking them. I get heartburn from raw garlic so I have to cook it before I can eat it. Raw garlic also burns my skin, does anyone else have this problem? OK, here is the recipe and hope you enjoy it. By the way I would like to apologize for my bad photos. No matter what I did I just couldn't get the color and light balanced, argh!

4 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup (220 grams) pureed squash
1 small carrot (40 grams) or 1 cup grated
handful chives, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt, adjust to taste
pinch ground black pepper
chile flakes to taste, ( omit for a mild version)
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. olive oil

1. In a small saucepan heat the oil, then add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. (Stir often to prevent burning.) Add the grated carrot and cook for 3 minutes to soften a bit, then add the chives and cook for a further 3 minutes. The chile flakes should be added next and mix until well combined. Lastly add the squash to the saucepan, stir and heat through. Sprinkle the salt and ground black pepper into the pan, stir until all ingredients are well combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before serving. Allowing the spread to sit will also help all of the ingredients come together for a better tasting spread.


Keep in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

And to finish this post I want to ask you guys to stop by Sommer's blog, Momma With Flavor, see this mouthwatering photo below? This is Sommer's delicious recipe for Autumn 3 Cheese Macaroni made with Kuri Squash, yum!. She so kindly and sweetly said "she(Nancy) inspired me to find great potential for this squash. Her addiction...erm..love for this lovely winter squash literally made my mouth water. Then the recipe she produced made me want to try this even more! " Isn't she a sweetie? When I read this it totally made my day and put a much needed smile on my face, thank you Sommer. You guys really have to stop by her blog and take a look at not only her Mac& Cheese creation but all of her delicious recipes. She is a very talented foodie with a beautiful family that inspires her kitchen creativity, with fantastic results I might add.

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What do The Godfather and A Scruffy Terrier Have In Common?

What does The Godfather and a Scruffy Terrier have in common? More than you may think. The Scruffy Scrappy Terrier will also make you that offer you can't refuse. It is very frightening, don't let that innocent look fool you. I've been woken up in the middle of the night by that chilling feeling, you know when you feel something isn't right. It's the Scruffy Terrier sitting up on the bed, just starring at me with a cold blank stare. What is he thinking, contemplating, or is it scheming?, gives me chills just to think about it. And then there are those "offers" he makes us, pet me now or I'll keep jumping around you annoying you until your nerves are wrecked and you can't resist my "offer" any longer. It can also be their shared love for Spaghetti. The Scruffy Terrier's demands go like this, get in the kitchen and make me some Shpaghetti or I'm going to tell everyone that you are a bad Mommy and starve me. (Shpaghetti is not misspelled, it's just how Czechs pronounce it and our dog prefers that pronunciation over Spaghetti, it's something about the ch and sh sounds that get his attention.) Shpaghetti is one of his favorite meals, and nothing better come between him and his Shpaghetti.

Well OK, the Scruffy Scrappy Terrier is actually nothing but a furry ball of love. He loves everyone and wants to share the love with both people and his fellow species. He doesn't care if you want or don't want some love and attention, you're getting it! Panchito is one of the sweetest dogs in the world, and has been my little shadow for the past 12+ years. He loves people food, and somehow he just knows what's for dinner and when not to fill up on his dog food and save room to fit his people dinner. Now I know many of you are bothered by the fact that we feed him Spaghetti or more specifically pasta sauce, don't be. Our dog has been eating pasta sauce, pepperoni pizza and many other weird things for 12 years. We have been lucky that his stomach is like a rock and hasn't had problems eating these foods. But that's my dog and may not be the case with many dogs out there, so be careful what you feed your dog.

So here is where the Godfather movie comes in, I actually learned how to make decent spaghetti sauce from the movie. It was from this scene in the first The Godfather movie,
"Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn't stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh…? And a little bit o' wine. An' a little bit o' sugar, and that's my trick." I tried it and was so happy to not have to buy the disgusting jars of pasta sauce that are available here. While it started out exactly as in the scene my sauce has evolved and it depends on what I have in the house to make it. Here is my general recipe.

Ingredients: ( 4 servings for 1 lb. or 500 grams spaghetti)
1 15 oz (400 grams) can stewed tomatoes
6 oz (200 grams) tomato puree
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
finely sliced/diced olives, optional
1 tsp. dried Thyme
2 tsp. dried Oregano
2 tsp. dried Basil
1 large bay leaf
large pinch of granulated sugar

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup (100 ml) red wine, *
Optional:
minced meat or sausage

*I will leave out or add it after I separate some sauce for the puppy, because alcohol is bad for dog.*

1. Heat the oil, add the minced garlic and cook for 3 minutes, then add all of the spices and stir around for 1 minutes. Add the wine then the stewed tomatoes and tomato puree, if the tomatoes are whole use the spoon to break up. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

If using sausage or minced meat fry until cooked through then add the remaining ingredients. You can use this basic tomato sauce for spaghetti or any other type of pasta you like. I like to use it on just about any pasta, even to make lasagna. It also freezes well.

You remember that movie Lady and The Tramp, the scene where they are having a romantic dinner slurping the spaghetti? Panchito kinda looks like him, now if we could only find him a girlfriend.... but he'd skip the long romantic walk and go for seconds then right into ....mmmmm.. let's just call it dessert to keep it G rated.

I have chosen this recipe for the October YBR event

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Fresh Figs with Prosciutto and Spiced Balsamic Glaze

Today I have one of my favorite Autumn recipes to share with you. It's flattop grilled fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto and arugula and drizzled with spiced balsamic glaze. Sounds fancy and delicious doesn't it? Well delicious it is and it is a great way to impress your family or dinner guest by serving them this hassle free, fairly inexpensive, appetizer wrapped in a lavish bow. I have been preparing this dish for several years and it's one that I can highly recommend for a dinner party or for a treat for your family. Besides fresh figs are in season right now and this is a great recipe to keep handy during fig season.

I will be keeping this post rather short today, I am so swamped with work on my 'big project" I mentioned in passing a couple of post ago. I can't wait to share it with all of you but first I need to complete it. I may not be able to stop by all of your sites in the coming days, so I apologize. But I will stop by as I get small breaks to do so. Well, on to the recipe and hope you like it as much as I do.

for 2 figs
2 figs, cut into 1/4ths
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
pinch salt
pinch ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
prosciutto or other cured ham
arugula

1. In a small cup combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic stirring until the spices have combined well into the vinegar. Rinse both the arugula and figs, cut each fig into 1/4 pieces.

2. Heat a nonstick pan,grill or griddle over medium heat. Place the figs skin down and cook for 2 minutes, drizzle a little of the vinegar mix over each piece. Turn the fig pieces on their sides, cook for another 2 minutes and drizzle a little more vinegar mix. Repeat one more time to cook on the last remaining side. Remove from heat and allow to cool until you can comfortably handle the fig.

3. Place one arugula leaf on top of the fig piece then wrap a piece of prosciutto around the fig and arugula. Repeat until each fig pieces is wrapped. Serve as an appetizer alone or alongside a small salad and baguette.

I have to admit that I like this dish so much that I will just have it as my dinner. I serve it with a small salad made of the extra arugula and balsamic glaze drizzled over it and fresh baked baguette from the corner bakery. Add a glass of your favorite red wine , now that's heavenly!

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