A Season of Thanks
Long time no talk!
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I really wanted to post something during the summer, but life (and health) pulled me in a different direction. I was nursing a lumbar vertebrae fracture all summer, so cooking was reduced to some bare necessities just to feed myself. When September came, I had to deal with a minor surgery. And, just as I thought I was finally staying afloat, I sustained another spine fracture, a thoracic one this time. I must’ve pissed off some bones God. Dear God, I promise to be good from now on! That’s how you know you’re getting old – you break your bones just from sneezing.
My back still hurts a lot, but I couldn’t pass my Scorpio season without saying hello. My birthday is in a week, so it’s prudent to take stock of what’s important in life and what to concentrate on at this time. I definitely wish to spend more time creating new recipes and share them with you, but I have to make a concerted effort to do that as I’m either busy working with my patients or taking care of my health, or just plain tired to spend some extra time in the kitchen. I’m still determined though to keep this blog going as much as I can.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I want to give thanks to my own self that, despite all the broken bones, surgery scars and health challenges, somehow I’m still here and chugging along. I know I’m keeping my guardian angels very busy, but I appreciate all the visible and invisible help they’re sending me. I can’t also not to be grateful for my Earth angel – my mom! I would not be able to handle all my life challenges if not for her! My beautiful mom is 78, but she still works part-time and helps me a lot.
I can’t bypass and not to say thank you to my feisty and “I march to my own drum” kid, even though he’s often a complete PITA and responsible for a lot of my grey hairs. Many many moons ago, when he was 12-13 years old, he was torturing us with pleas for a motorcycle. He even wrote an essay, complete with deliberate spelling mistakes and sarcastic remarks, outlining the perceived safety of riding a motorcycle. Fast forward to now, at 26, he’s on his third motorcycle (because all the previous ones apparently weren’t cool or fast enough). I’d still prefer him to ride a red Little Tikes car! Here’s my handsome kid with his new Ducati at a Lamborghini event (Ducati bikes are owned by Lamborghini). If this engineering thing doesn’t work out for him, he can work as a bike model.
And, my deepest gratitude to my girl Afina for being a ray of sunshine in my life, for her always happy, energetic and always loving personality. I cannot imagine my life without her presence!
Who and what do you give thanks to in your life?
What’s Cooking This Week
We have a delicious seasonal recipe today that you can use for your Thanksgiving menu or any other time this autumn or winter. Pumpkin rice (or millet) is a traditional Ukrainian dish, generally served for either breakfast or lunch, that’s easy to make and is pretty hearty with plenty of milk and butter. This recipe is best if you make it with a homemade pumpkin purée, so I encourage you to cook it up ahead of making this dish. I’m using honey nut squash for its sweet taste and easy roasting process, but you can definitely use regular pumpkin here too.
Ukrainian Pumpkin Rice
This is a simple and delicious recipe, using ingredients that you already have in your pantry. Either rice or millet are traditionally used in this dish. You can use either regular pumpkin or honey nut squash for this recipe.
Roast pumpkin or honey nut squash to make 4 cups of pumpkin purée.
Combine pumpkin purée with uncooked rice and milk and bring to a boil.
Add raisins, honey or maple syrup, vanilla, spices, and lemon zest.
Reduce heat and cook under a closed lid, stirring frequently.
Gradually add more milk as the liquid evaporates.
Continue cooking until the rice is soft, stirring often.
Add butter or ghee and mix well at the end.
This dish will keep for awhile in the fridge. Reheat before serving.
I hope you’ll give this Ukrainian dish a try this holiday season or any time during the upcoming winter.
Ukrainian Pumpkin Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups pumpkin purée
- 4+1 cups milk of choice I used coconut
- 2 cups uncooked rice or millet
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 4 Tbsp butter or ghee
Instructions
- Roast pumpkin at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.
- Cut pumpkin, remove the seeds and scoop out pumpkin purée.
- In a big pot, combine 4 cups of pumpkin purée, uncooked rice and 4 cups of milk and bring to a boil.
- Add honey, lemon zest, vanilla, spices, and raisins.
- Reduce heat and cook it under a closed lid, stirring frequently.
- As the liquid evaporates, gradually add 1 more cup of milk.
- Cook it until the rice is soft, stirring often.
- Stir in butter and mix well.