Pumpkin Spice Latte

Every October when the wind becomes stronger, the air becomes cooler,  and restaurants start to make pumpkin flavored dishes. My favorite and the simplest to make is the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. This is a fall favorite, and just heats you up. The taste of it just screams Fall. At home my mom and I tried to make our own rendition of this Starbucks classic. When we made it, it tasted just like the one from Starbucks including the fall flavor that just warms you up from the inside out. So today I made my own version of this easy fall classic, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon pumpkin butter (Trader Joes)

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch of pumpkin spice

Desired amount of sugar or sweetener

Coffee

First put the milk and pumpkin butter into a bowl. Mix together until the pumpkin butter has dissolved. Add the pumpkin spice and the sweetener or sugar and mix together. Put into a milk frother and or put into a jam jar and shake for a minute and heat up until warm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1pW2_g9Hus

While the milk is frothing make coffee using either your regular coffee machine or a Nespresso and do the biggest cup on the Nespresso (which fills up about half of the coffee cup). 

To the coffee add the frothed milk and mix together, then add whipped cream on top if desired. Finally enjoy your own homemade pumpkin spice latte.

Mushroom Risotto

A few summers ago, my Great Uncle rented a château in Bordeaux, France. One of my uncle's friends who came on the trip made this amazing risotto one of the nights. My dad decided to try making his own version of it. The risotto he made was delicious; it almost was like the risotto from France. Because of this, I decided to make this one my way: a mushroom risotto with truffle oil and butter to add flavor. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cups chicken broth 

1/2 a yellow onion

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 package of mushrooms (I used mixed wild mushrooms, but you could use whatever type you like)

1 tablespoon truffle butter

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

First sauté the mushrooms in 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil until fully cooked. Put the mushrooms in a bowl and save until needed. 

Cooked mushrooms

In a big pot cook the chopped onion in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil until translucent. Next, add the rice and let it cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add white wine and let it cook for another minute. Add a ladle full of warm chicken broth into the pot and keep adding a ladle full every 1-2  minutes, or whenever the rice doesn't seem to have much liquid, while stirring constantly. Cook on low for about 18-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. 

Risotto cooking

Broth

After 18-20 minutes when the rice is fully cooked, add the mushrooms, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon truffle butter and serve. Add some parmesan cheese, and drizzle some truffle oil on top if desired. I hope you enjoy this amazing dish!

How to Preserve Herbs

Over the summer my mom and I had a herb garden on our patio. This is because otherwise the deer would eat them all. We had thyme, chives, verbena, basil, oregano and other herbs. So today my mom and I preserved the oregano and chives. We did this by making chive butter and thyme into oregano ice cubes. These are just two simple ways of preserving the flavor of your favorite herbs so they will last the harsh winter.

Oregano Ice Cubes: 

 First pick some oregano from your garden or use the oregano from the grocery store if you want to preserve that. Then wash it to get the bugs and dirt off before preserving it.

Rough chop the oregano so that you don't need to chop it up after you defrost it.

Put 1 tablespoon worth of oregano into an ice cube tray and then fill it with water to about halfway.

Put in the freezer for about 3-4 hours and then add more water on top until it reaches the top of the tray.

Then freeze for another 3-4 hours and then put them into a bag labeled "oregano" until needed use. 

Chive Butter:

Pick some chives from you herb garden and or buy some chives from the supermarket. Rough chop the chives and then add to the food processor.

Add about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, a stick or two of butter, and 3/4 to 1 cup of chives, mix until combined.

Put into plastic wrap and form it into the shape of a log.

Cut into slices when ready to use, this would be great on baked potatoes, and other dishes that use chives.

 

Michelle's Noodle Kugel

Every year on Yom Kippur, my family and I go to break fast. This is when the people who are fasting can start eating again after 24 hour. Whenever we go there is one dish that I always end up getting like 3 pieces of, this dish is called Noodle Kugel. Noodle Kugel is a simple dish which made egg noodles in a custard mixture, then topped off with a corn flake topping. Just thinking about this makes me hungry! This is my mom's recipe that she got from my grandma, personally this is the best noodle kugel I have ever had. I hope you enjoy one of my favorite dishes from Yom Kippur break fast, and even if you aren't Jewish this is a dish that you and your family will enjoy!

Ingredients: 
1 pound egg noodles
12 onces sour cream
1/2 pound cream cheese (1 thing of Philadelphia cream cheese)
1 stick melted butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick melted butter

First set the oven to 350 degrees. Then in a big bowl or a mixer put the sour cream, cream cheese, butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Then use a hand held mixer and or just turn on the food mixer and mix until it looks like custard.

Then cook the egg noodles for 5 minutes and then put into the custard mixture.

In a little bowl mix the cornflakes, butter, cinnamon, and sugar together with a spoon until it all sticks together a little bit. Butter the baking dish and add the pasta mixture and then top with the cornflake topping. Cook 1/2 hour if you will eat it the next day (then cook it for another half and hour right before you eat it the next day), or cook for 1 hour and eat right away.