She Says: Tis’ the Season for … Pumpkin?
Do you remember saying, “H-E double hockey sticks?” I heard a little boy say that today at school and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Everyone, I am tired. I did my usual Thursday routine today – school, seminar, snack(s), but I could not get my legs to move on the treadmill. 30 minutes in, I was not enjoying myself, so I took it as a sign to stop. I was going to walk instead, but I couldn’t even manage that. Obviously my legs need a little rest I guess. My feeling is that if I am running as a way to relieve stress and for over all health and fitness, I should listen to my body when it’s asking to stop. Doing otherwise is not very healthy and there’s always tomorrow.
Instead, I seized the opportunity for extra cooking time to whip up a pumpkin based meal. I bought a can last week hoping to make some sort of pumpkin risotto, but then all the recipes I found involved dry white wine and I do not have that. Can you make risotto without dry white wine?
Anyway, I thought back to other pumpkin delights I’ve eaten recently and remembered when I made Black Beans and Rice with Pumpkin Vinegarette, which I found at Megan’s Munchies. I used the can of pumpkin, cumin, honey, garlic, chickpeas and spinach and put it all with wheat berries and honey baked tofu. Lovely.
Too Sweet
Guess what? I love vanilla yogurt and actually, I used to eat it almost everyday. During Back to Basics Month I tried to cut down on added sugar and stopped using splenda. At the same time, I sort of stopped eating flavored yogurt everyday and switched to plain. Occasionally, I’ll have a vanilla Greek Yogurt, but that is still slightly tangy. When I packed my lunch last night I saw some vanilla yogurt and I decided to scoop it in a container with some flax.
Of course, I licked the spoon and when I did, I was shocked … it was wayyyy too sweet! I couldn’t believe it!!!! I didn’t want to waste it, so I used a little bit and added it to plain yogurt instead.
This excited me greatly. I was a sugar/fake sugar additct. A couple years ago I bought plain yogurt and added spenlda to it! I have seen the light. I do not need sugar in everything.
Except Christmas cookies.
Cookie of the Day: Butterballs
This recipe comes from a Cook Book published by a group of my grandmother belonged to called the Wanskuck Wonders filled with her and her friend’s Italian family secret recipes. Both my grandma and my mom have made them for as long as I can remember. They look like little snow balls and are quite festive.
Butterballs
- 1/2 C soft butter
- 1/3 C confectioner sugar
- 1 T water
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 1/4 C flour
- dash of salt
- 1/2 C
Cream soft butter and sifted confectioner suagr. Stir in water and vanilla. Add flour and belnd, dash of salt and chopped walnuts, mix well. Roll in 1″ balls.
Place 2.5″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 300* for 20 minutes (they need to cook slow). While warm, roll cookies in confectioner suagr. Makes 2.5 dozen.
Enjoy!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
hmmm Butterballs!
I hope your legs feel better tomorrow, I def. know that feeling so good for you for listening to what yo fine-ass body was tellin you!
Rest Up! It’s almost the weekend!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I make those cookies for Christmas every year! They’re SO GOOD!
I can’t stomach a lot of yogurt any more – too watery and sweet
Yum to that dinner though
Enjoy your night!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I took a rest day today, too. I walked the shopping mall instead!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
You can make risotto without the wine. It’s an optional item in most of them I think, just use more veggie stock or whatever liquid you’re using. It would be fine, just as a heads up!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Thanks for the mention! I love your pumpkin dinner! Wish I had that for dinner tonight! Your butterballs look quite tasty too!!!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Oh! Those butterball cookies are always on our Christmas cookie plate. I always liked the looks of them, but never liked the taste. I think I’m just a chocoholic.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Yep, I remember H-E double hockey sticks. Haha, that’s cute kids still say it.
I was going to say the same thing Victoria said. I’ve heard you can leave out wine and just substitute more stock.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Oh what a fabulous dinna! I used to have a hamster named Butterball! I dont know that I could eat those :O
December 11th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Wow, your pumpkin dinner looks amazing! What a good combo. Way to listen to your body and get off the treadmill. So many just keep pushing themselves through the workout even when they know they should stop. Exciting that you’re Splenda free and getting used to unsweetened foods. I’m trying to get there as well.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Congrats on ditching the sugar! That is seriously an accomplishment.
You might be able to sub some vinegar for the wine. Not sure. I don’t make risotto much.
Yay for recipes
December 11th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
aaah, i love snowballs!!!!! dinner looks fab, and you definately don’t need wine for risotto, just more stock
and i feel the same way about yogurt (and christmas cookies) 
get some rest!!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
love pumpkin delight!!!
I think when you get less sugar, your taste become less sweet…that happens to me too which is great! isn’t it?
December 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
i used to make risotto ALL the time last year and never used white wine because i never had it around i just added more of whatever liquid i was using and it turned out fine!
December 11th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Good for you, listening to your body. That’s definitely sensible, if your way of stress relief is causing you stress, then it’s probably a sign that today is not the day for it.
I’ve noticed since I started eating plain yogurt more, that the vanilla is definitely a bit too sweet for me. Crazy how tastes change.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
You deserve a break today! You have been soooo busy! Dinner looks yummy! I have to try one of your cookie recipes- they all look so good…how will I ever choose?
December 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Congrats on not needing the sweet stuff! I am totally addicted and looking to ween myself off… it hasn’t been working too well thus far. Any suggestions?
December 12th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Good for you for listening to your body tonight!
December 12th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I love vanilla yogurt as well. But lately, I have been on the plain yogurt kick.
December 12th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Yum. Your pumpkin dish looks delicious! And those butterballs sound like something my family makes called crescent cookies. The only difference is that we roll them into crescent shapes. They are so good…
December 12th, 2008 at 12:44 am
sending feel better vibes to your legs. mine were way tired today too.
love the cookies…and sorry about the yogurt..i feel the same exact way; no worries, you’re not alone. :0
December 12th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Butterballs? I wish I could have one… I think I have to avoid them, though, for my waistline.
Sorry about your legs.. I hate when that happens, but at least you went 30 mins! That is way more than not going to the gym at all!
December 12th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Yum yum yum just the name of those cookies sound delicious! Mmm…. butter.
Glad you listened to your body saying it needed a rest… don’t want to end up with an injury.
Have a lovely night
December 12th, 2008 at 1:49 am
I need a rest day soon as well! MY EYES are also telling me they need some sleep!
December 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Yummy cookies! Thanks for the recipe!
December 12th, 2008 at 8:35 am
i saw that meal on Meg’s Munchies and thought it sounded AMAZING! what a neat combination of ingredients! I’ll have to try it sometime!
Happy Friday Heather!!!
December 12th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I think you can make risotto with broth instead of wine.
I was EXACTLY like you with the yogurts. I used to add splenda to my plain yogurts, then I started adding sweet toppings so I cut out the splenda and now I can’t have sweetened yogurt at all. It just tastes so ridiculously sweet (not in a good way) and definitely very fake. That’s pretty cool that you can “train” your taste buds!
December 12th, 2008 at 9:54 am
That is good news about the sweeteners….maybe that will happen to me eventually? (I can dream, right?)
That dinner looks a-ma-zing!
December 12th, 2008 at 9:58 am
No doubt you’d be tired – long day, for sure!! Hope you got enough rest!!
Fun dinner & cookie recipe!!
December 12th, 2008 at 10:34 am
YES you can make risotto w/o dry white wine!! I make it with chicken broth all the time, and it works FANTASTICALLY!
December 12th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Wow, that’s really cool about your taste for sweets going down! I wonder if that’ll happen to me too I’m splenda free but subbed in stevia so maybe not.
Sometimes I’ve made risotto with vermouth or, like Mara said, broth.
December 12th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I saw we start a movement to keep pumpkin around all year long!
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
December 12th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
those butterballs sound like something i would love
for the risotto, you can subsitute chicken or veggie broth for the white wine.
hope you have a very happy friday!
December 12th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
To answer your question, I’ve only used turbinado sugar in cookies so far, and it does add a little bit of texture to the mix. But it’s not crunchy and doesn’t distract from the cookie’s awesomeness. And I’ve seen a bunch of recipes calling for turbinado sugar in cakes and sweet breads, so I’m sure it works in softer baked goods as well. I’m going to give that a try soon!
December 12th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Yum, I love simple cookies like this one!
Isn’t that exciting about the sugar? I only ever eat plain fat free yogurt and I just mix in some frozen berries- if I eat any other type of yogurt it just tastes way too sweet and way too fattening for my liking. So neat how our taste buds change.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I’ve used chicken broth before while making risotto – you don’t need the wine, but it does give it more flavor.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Your meal looks delicious. You can totally leave the wine out of the risotto, but it’s sooo yummy with it.
December 12th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Isn’t it amazing how our tastes change? I mean I know I never craved veggies a couple years ago and now I really feel like I need them, I just enjoy the fresh flavors.
December 12th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I’m the same way with flavored yogurts now. They are just too sweet…and if I try one with artificial sweeteners, ugh…it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth I can’t get more than one spoonful in.
December 12th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Everyone seems tired today…must be Friday.
I scrolled down and immediately thought “Oh, that looks good. What is that?”
Thanks for sharing, more great ideas.
December 13th, 2008 at 12:15 am
thank you for your comment heather!!! i really love your blog! especially the little “challenges” you two do!
also – thanks for inspiring me to think about riding my diet of “artificial sweeteners” i really need to cut back!!!
December 13th, 2008 at 2:41 am
isn’t it crazy how are bodies get used to having a certain amount of sugar? I used to only eat sweetened yogurt and now I only by plain and occasionally add a little honey. The butterballs sound delightful.
December 13th, 2008 at 9:02 am
what the h e double hockey sticks…….
HAR HAR HAR HAR!!!!! my mother ~Loves~ butter balls, i will send this recipe to her for sure. thanks heather!
glad to be back. XO.
December 13th, 2008 at 10:00 am
WOW, your dinner looks amazing. Those butter balls look so yummy. Have a great weekend.
zesty
December 13th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Oh gosh, little kids! Remember when people would go “What’s under there?” and you’d say “Under where?” And then they’d make fun of you for saying underwear…
December 13th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I used to love to say H-E-double hockey sticks. It made me feel so cool. That dinner looks fabulous.
Butterballs sound awesome. I love the name Wanskuck Wonders! It sounds like such a great group
December 14th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I soooooooooo used to say H-E-double hockey sticks all the time
love the cookies – yum…
your pumpkin & bean dish looks so hearty and flavorful – what a great combo!
December 18th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I know what you mean about the yogurt – I’ve been eating plain Greek yogurt with just a couple spoonfuls of jam mixed in, which gives it just the right amount of sweetness. Then sometimes I’ll have a flavored yogurt/fruit on the bottom yogurt, and it always surprises me how sweet they taste!
December 21st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
[...] Butter Balls [...]
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] I made some Butter Balls that Heather featured. (I had already put the rest away, hence the lone singleton right here)I only made half [...]