SEEDS... the wonder of life!

My neighbor brought me over half of her home-grown banana squash - what a gift!

The seeds were plentiful - I pulled out about 100 from the caverns of this squash.  

Check this out though - I have never seen a seed like this one before. 

The other side looks identical with a slender beige middle on each. 

My daughter Eden had baked pumpkin bread the other day & saved me the seeds, again about 100 seeds from just one very small organic pumpkin. I give them a quick rinse to get most of the flesh off of the seed - they seem to dry better this way. 

Pumpkin seed on the left; banana squash on the right - awesome, right? 

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This is the cover of my new book - my project is posted on kickstarter so that I can raise funds to print this darling book. I have about 3 weeks left. Please share this link with others you may know who may be able to help me push on down the road.  

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marcyhopewilliams/ruby-rose-comes-to-town

Thanks!

Marcy Hope Williams

A Trip to the Mill & 

Why Not Juice?

So you can truly see how beautiful the mountains are with a light dusting of snow upon them. This is Northern Utah in October. We still have fields of grain and pastureland abounds.  

My day job allows me to travel north to visit folks in Southern Idaho, and south to Brigham City & Tremonton in Utah, where I meet people I never would have met & learn about businesses & industries I never knew existed in my own backyard.  

This local flour mill produces organic products that are shipped all across America.  

So what about juicing? Is it difficult? 

For a basic juice I use carrots, apples & beets - that's all. 

I can add a wedge of lemon, bunch of spinach or sprigs of parsley, a few stalks of celery or 

just about any vegetable you're inspired to use. Organic is always better. 

I use my blender to add a banana for thickness. 

Some mornings I create my shake by blending the juice, one cup of nut milk, a banana, my protein powder & lots of water - what a way to start the day!  

Love my Jack LaLanne juicer & always will! 

Their machines usually run about $99 - they also sell refurbished ones for half that price. 

I have purchased one of each & both are still running perfectly.

Talk about customer service - I haven't seen much better! 

If a part breaks down, which is rare - they will send you out a new one for free!

The clean-up does take a few minutes, 

but the parts are easy to clean when compared with other juicers & well-worth the work. 

Fresh juices are refreshing, a quick pick-me-up & loaded with vitamins & minerals to help keep you youthful & strong - quick to digest too.

I've often wanted to have a watercolor painting done with fresh juices - their colors are oh so vibrant. If any of you readers would like to try this, I'd love to hear (or see) the results. Wheatgrass also produces a vibrant green. 

You can email me at storyexpress@gmail.com. 

I told you so...

Remember me telling you how happy I was because Cache Valley Utah was experiencing fall? Well, 6:30 am - this is what I opened my front door to. I promise to get you a brighter shot next time, but I think if you enlarge the photo, you might just need to grab a cup of warm hot chocolate. 

An awesome day & the Pumpkin Walk

We are definitely experiencing a real Autumn here in Cache Valley Utah. 

The air crisp, the sky sunny & blue & brilliant colored leaves everywhere!  

I especially love walking on them, crunch, crunch, crunch & smelling their rich fragrance - yes, I love fall. Usually though, I feel like we jump from summer to winter here in Northern Utah, so this year I feel very fortunate indeed.

I'm also excited because I launched my kickstarter project at about 3 this morning. For those folks who haven't checked out my site yet, the address is:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marcyhopewilliams/ruby-rose-comes-to-town

Now onto the Pumpkin Walk, a tradition here in these parts for 29 years now. Once a year at this time, schools, clubs and organizations get together to decorate pumpkins and create scenes. I think my business Story-Express will have to create one next year. Every year the theme is new. This year sets were created around, "Let the Games Begin." 
Enjoy your walk!

A scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

 Yes winter in Northern Utah!

Karate Kid

I'm not sure about this one.

Or this one?

Tug o War between Utah State University's mascot & students? 

The game Clue.

In the barn were these lighted carved pumpkins.

Harry Potter, of course, riding his broom.

Duck duck, goose, goose.

For the parents - these next 2 scenes are political cartoons, or politics at their worst! 

The title was "If the pets had their way."

And of course, love finds its way & happily ever-after.

Ruby Rose Comes to Town

Drum-roll please... My project on Kickstarter has now been launched. I have 30 days to complete this project. If you like this 3 minute video, please share the link with all those you know. I really need & appreciate your help in getting my Ruby Rose Comes to Town project off the ground!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marcyhopewilliams/ruby-rose-comes-to-town

Below you'll find a jingle I wrote for the Little Bloomsbury Art Show - their them was financial soundness. A wonderful group of children & their parents created this skit.

http://youtu.be/XFy4S3PJYNA

Butternut squash, polenta, figs & hazelnuts dinner

I was earlier inspired from a recipe I read from http://www.projectdomestication.blogspot.com/

which I read on http://www.lanayferme.com/home.html

I texted my friend after work tonight to see if she was up to cooking - and lucky for me, she was. 

Carefully gathering up all the main ingredients I managed to forget the recipe. 

I had wanted to change up the recipe a smidgion anyway, so we improvised. 

Here are the main ingredients. 

We ended up using the the acorn squash rather than the spaghetti squash, 

plus baked a serving of banana squash too.

The top was removed to reveal a beautiful scalloped-edge shape. I can imagine using this as a stamp with paint to create some fun wrapping paper (it's getting late so I apologize for the ideas). 

The squash was placed in an inch of water & microwaved for about 10 minutes. We were hungry, so we chose this option rather than turning the squash upside down & baking it in a 400-425 degree oven for about 40 minutes. 

The polenta was sliced in 1/2" slices.

For those of you who haven't ate polenta - it's a special treat, a great grain alternative, made of pre-cooked corn meal. 

We chose to fry this up on a griddle at about 350 degrees - remember it's already been cooked so your just frying it to gain that light golden-brown color. 

About 8 figs were quartered & some were snacked on.

And here's where the missing photo would be - a picture of about 3/4 c of hazelnuts being roasted over the stove. Half of the nuts were coarsely chopped & the remainder were left whole. 

Ah, the finished product. Laziz's Muhammara was used to top the polenta & the squash entree. Sliced cucumbers were added for both color & to include a raw green. 

Roasted hazelnuts & figs were sprinkled onto the squash. 

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Eggplant Antipasto

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This recipe, worth making - is from my mother's files from 1978 with a few tweaks from me. 

You'll find the recipe at the end of the pics.

So here's your ingredients - pretty simple... and just plain pretty!

A close-up.

Here's your onions & red bell peppers diced.

Here's a dicer my mother gave to me - it sure comes in handy when you're trying to dice uniformly.

Mushrooms are very easy to chop in this tool, onions a bit harder & require kind of a slam.

Saute your diced vegetables (cubed eggplant & garlic have been added) in olive oil.

You can see the vegetables shrinking down. 

After about 10 minutes, they're done.

Add your 6 oz can of tomato paste with water, fructose, salt, pepper, oregano & balsamic vinegar in separate bowl & whisk. Add to vegetables. Throw in a couple of bay leaves & cover.   

Simmer for about 30 minutes covered - until your eggplant is tender & you're done! This has a surprisingly different taste, a great alternative as a winter stew. 

Doesn't this bread look scrumptious? 

Whole-grain bakeries are popping up in most communities these days & well worth the search. 

My daughter served up her dish this way. You can also use this Mediterranean dish as a side dish or even as an  hors d'oeuvre.  I sometimes serve this on top of golden couscous. My mother likes to serve it on a pizza crust and sometimes she even serves it cold - I prefer it warm though.  

Eggplant Antipasto

3 c cubed eggplant (do not skin)

1 med red or green bell pepper (diced)

1 or 2 onions (chopped)

1 c small Portabello mushrooms (coarsely chopped)

2 t fructose

2 t oregano

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2-3 bay leaves

2-3 large cloves (crushed)

1/3 c olive oil (or less)

6 oz can of tomato paste (preferably organic)

1/2 c water

2 T Balsamic vinegar

Saute eggplant, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms & garlic in oil for 10 minutes.
Whisk together in separate bowl, tomato paste, water, fructose, vinegar, oregano, salt & pepper. 
Mix into vegetables & stir gently. 
Cover & simmer for 30 minutes or until eggplant is tender. 
Can be made 3 days in advance.
Keep covered in refrigerator.
Enjoy!