The Best Mini Pumpkin Muffins for Fall

Being from the Midwest, I think I have a soft spot for Fall in my heart.  

When the seasons change, the cool breeze whips through my hair with just enough of a chill to make me feel alive and breathe a little deeper, but not enough to force me to rush back to the warmth of the indoors.  I want to be cozy, but I also don't want to miss a minute of nature's last hurrah.  The scattering of gorgeous leaves on the ground is a treat for the eyes, and is almost always accompanied by the scratching and scurrying sounds of dried leaves blowing across the ground. The combination of rustic, muted colors together with crimson and yellow leaves is always spectacular, and the first arrival of bright orange pumpkins is a cause for celebration.        

So if you are like me, when Fall comes, you want to get outside and soak up the fleeting clean, cool air with hikes, late afternoon picnics, and hayrides.  But at the same time, the urge to warm up indoors beckons.  And naturally, the best way to warm up inside is to bake.  

Lately, my urge to bake has been insatiable - I have definitely baked more in the last three weeks than I have in the last three months combined, and I think that is directly related to the arrival of Fall and the warm comforting flavors it brings with it.  But let me tell you who has totally out-baked me: my sister.  I told you before that she has fallen in love with baking, and that affair just continues to blossom as she has been baking up fantastic sweet treats almost every other day.  And now it is sort of ironic because the tables have turned - she is recommending baking recipes to me instead of the other way around!  

Sugar and Spice Apple Chips

In celebration of fall, I am so excited to tell you about these easy and crispy Sugar and Spice Apple Chips.  But it gets even better, since I am sharing the recipe as a guest post over on Meandering Eats today!  I am sure you remember Marie of Meandering Eats - she is my dear friend who shared a post here on The Cilantropist not long ago, and my partner in crime for getting the best eats and food experiences here in San Diego.  

Today I am sharing a recipe on her site so that you can make your own apple chips with the abundance of apples this fall.  Apple chips are a fantastic and healthy snack for both adults and little ones - I am sure kids will be amazed to see how some extra heat, a dash of sugar and spice, and a little time can turn this... 

Into this...! 

You can flavor these chips with anything you like, but I chose sugar, cinnamon, and chinese five spice.  Perfect warm flavors for a cozy snack on a cool fall day. Oh, and be sure to share - you can bag these up and give them away to friends and family as homemade gifts!  

Stop by Meandering Eats to get this easy recipe, and enjoy your week!

You might also like: Smoked Gouda, Apple, and Bacon Melt

One year ago: A Presidio picnic, with Italian Pressed Sandwiches

Carrot Cake Cupcakes, with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I am always a little perplexed when someone says to me, "Oh carrot cake is my favorite!"  I mean, obviously I think carrot cake is awesome... but your favorite? Really?  (Are you sure you aren't fibbing?)  I always want to ask them why, not necessarily because I question their taste, but more out of sheer curiosity.  What is it that holds carrot cake at the forefront of your taste as your favorite?   

I think I feel this way because for me, carrot cake is sort of akin to that old worn out sweatshirt at the bottom of your drawer - you know, the one that you know you love, but that you forget you have.  Then the minute you put it on you immediately chide yourself for not wearing it all the time because it is so comfortable and so warm and just all-around perfect.  Carrot cake is like that old sweatshirt - a love, many times forgotten, but never a quite placed on the 'favorite' shelf.      

But last week my sister (who has recently discovered her love for baking, Yay!) said to me, "Hey I am going to make carrot cake cupcakes!"  And just like that - carrot cake rushed off the dusty shelf in the back of my mind.  I couldn't stop thinking about making these cupcakes.  I was dreaming of fall spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger - and I knew this would be the perfect recipe to make me feel like the season was here.  (Of course, it didn't hurt that my sister told me her co-workers loved them, and highly recommended I make them.)   

Since my sister had already made these cupcakes using a Smitten Kitchen recipe, I asked her if she had included any changes to the ingredients or baking time.  I was super excited to hear that she had read through some of the comments on the original post (as well as some reviews from a similar recipe on Epicurious), and decided to substitute applesauce for most of the oil in the cake batter. Swapping apple sauce for oil is a trick I have long wanted to try, but never really had the occasion.  

Grilled Thai Coriander Chicken

I am really excited to share another guest post with you today - this one is from my good friend and co-worker, Steve.  Steve is not a blogger, but he is a true food connoisseur at heart.  His skills in the kitchen are undeniable, and he is always making really amazing Thai foods and other Asian dishes.  He and I talk about food ALL the time (he says this below, but I thought I would repeat it for emphasis), so many of the recipes you see here on The Cilantropist have been discussed with Steve over a cup of coffee before we start the workday.  He has given me invaluable advice on most, if not all, of the Asian dishes I have featured here, including my recipe for Tom Yum Goong (Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns) and Turkey Larb.  In fact, sometimes he even brings me fresh kaffir lime leaves, limes, or lemongrass from his parent's garden up in LA.   


All of Steve's cooking is fantastic, but I know he is an expert grill master, so I asked him to share one of his summer recipes with you today.  This Grilled Thai Coriander Chicken is perfect for an end-of-summer backyard barbecue, or to make for the upcoming Labor Day weekend, or just to make on a weekday for dinner.  The chicken doesn't need to marinate for very long, and is extremely easy to make. And as a bonus, Steve also shared his recipe for a Green Salad with Thai-inspired Lime Dressing!  Together with some extra grilled veggies, this is basically the perfect family summer meal. 


This is Steve's first time posting here or ever, and this a fantastic post so let's show him some love!  I am sure you will enjoy this recipe and I hope he will share more in the future. 

______________________________________

Since Amanda is toiling away everyday working on her PhD thesis, I have observed firsthand the craziness of finishing up and graduating.  I am actually her friend and neighbor in the lab (our desks are next to each other), and I love food.  We both talk about it ALL the time and share each recipes and experiences in cooking with each other.  I have to say, I am pretty lucky to be able to taste The Cilantropist’s food.  So when she asked me to do the guest post, I was both honored and apprehensive, since this is the first time I have ever written a food post.  I really like to cook and try new things, but taking pictures and cooking at the same time is definitely hard and I give props to everyone that does this.  


Now, onto the food!

Many times you have guests come over unexpectedly, or a lot of visitors, and you want to make them something good, but that is still simple enough to manage.  I came from a very big Chinese-Thai family and we often had family gatherings (either random or planned) at my Grandma’s house.  My dad has 7 brothers and sisters, so I have lots of cousins and we all gathered at Grandma’s house.  When I was a kid, I remember running around the house playing hide and seek, climbing trees, playing video games with my cousins, BUT in the background I could see that the kitchen and backyard was also active with my relatives cooking.  In particular, the grill was definitely being utilized and the smell of grilled meat and charcoal sticks to my mind whenever I think of Grandma’s house.  We aren’t unaccustomed to non-Asian foods or food snobs, but we just didn’t make your usual fare of burgers and hotdogs at our gatherings.  We all love to eat good food, and in particular, good Thai food.  


Being that we all lived and grew up in southern California, BBQ was definitely something we did a lot in the backyard during the cool summer evenings.  So this marinade for Grilled Thai Coriander Chicken that I rediscovered from my parents brings back many memories.  Not only is it very easy to prepare at short notice, but very versatile for grilling different kinds of meats.  I have never tried it with tofu, but maybe that would work as well.

For the chicken, the coriander-cilantro marinade is a very simple recipe and requires few ingredients, but the secret to making this marinade is in the preparation of some of the ingredients.  Coriander is just the seed of cilantro, so in this recipe you get double cilantro (which is, coincidentally, part of The Cilantropist’s namesake).  The seeds are dried and you can get it at any Mexican or Asian market, even many larger supermarkets such as Whole foods should have it.  The first thing you want to do is dry toast the seeds in a heavy pan for 5 minutes until you can smell the fragrant coriander, but NOT burned.  You need to shake the pan every once in awhile so that the coriander seeds are evenly toasted on all sides. 

On the side, Spice Roasted Carrots

I am always attracted to fresh, bright orange carrots at the farmers market.  With their springy, leafy green tops and wispy roots still attached, they are worlds apart from their plastic-wrapped counterparts at the grocery store.  They might even still have a little dirt clinging to them, telling you they really came from the earth.  (As opposed to those perfectly shaped baby carrots; who knows where they really come from...) 

Freshly washed carrots from the farmers market. 

The carrots from the farmers market even taste better - they have a sweeter and more grassy taste, whereas I think the carrots from the grocery store just taste a little watery and dull.  And speaking of watery, it is funny how those plastic wrapped carrots are packed in water, but yet can be so dry.  The carrots from the farmers market are always fresh and full of life.  And if you like a little variety in your life, look no further than the farmers market to find red, purple, and yellow carrots.  

The carrots from the farmers market come in all sizes... including some mini ones.

Sometimes when I get these carrots I just bring them home and eat them raw with an easy veggie dip, or I slice them up for salads or slaws.  But recently, I have been really into roasting them with spices to enhance their sweet flavor.  

No need to peel them, these carrots are perfect and beautiful just sliced in half.

You can really toss vegetables with any spices you like, but I often try out some new or more exotic spice blends.  Spice things up, if you will.  (Ha!  A pun!)  

So for these spice roasted carrots, I decided to mix sweet and salty with a rich spice blend known as baharat.  Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice blend commonly used to season lamb, lentils, stews, and soups and there are several different varieties.  The one originating in Turkey also contains mint, but the most traditional Arabic or North African baharat spice blend contains black pepper, coriander, cloves, cassia bark, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice.  Some blends also include chili pepper or paprika to give them a bit more ‘heat,’ but mine doesn't so I added some extra cayenne pepper to this recipe.  

Olive oil with sugar, salt, and spices to glaze the carrots.

Pickled Watermelon Rind

This month I saw all my lovely blogger friends who are Daring Cooks producing cute little jars of apple and peach butter as part of this month's challenge focused on food preservation.  I have to say, this is definitely one month when I wished to be part of Daring Cooks since I love pickling and making preserves!  Even though I am not a member of this adventurous group, I do make my share of challenging and unique recipes, and I thought I would springboard off their challenge and share my latest pickling experience with you and ask for some suggestions.    

I found this recipe for pickled watermelon rind in Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio and I was drawn to it like a magnet.  (Don't ask why because I have no idea.  Maybe it had something to do with my hesitation to throw away all that pretty green rind.  Or, maybe I just like any recipe with the word pickle.)  The recipe seemed simple enough, and I thought it would be an interesting condiment to use with a summer fish dish or possibly in a relish.