Cool it Down and Still Get Your Zzz's

I made a big batch of Dr. Fuhrman's Famous Anti-Cancer Soup and served it along with biscuits and a tofu scramble for dinner last night. The soup really hit the spot. I like the creaminess the cashews give it. As usual I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I didn't use the Vege Base the recipe called for because I didn't have any. Instead I added a bit of miso before serving and it worked out very well.

We had to cook all the winter squash because it just wasn't holding well in our quasi root cellar anymore. I also needed a quick breakfast for everyone to grab as they race out the door to catch the school bus. Naturally, I realized this much later in the day than I would have hoped.

For a change I made the pumpkin cranberry scone recipe from Veganomicon, the latest cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, which I got for Christmas - Thanks Ray!! The recipe uses cardamom which I rarely use but it lends such a nice flavor. Its also a quick recipe to make and cook which gives it bonus points in my eyes.

I really like Isa's pumpkin muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance because of the combination of spices she uses as well. They really highlight the pumpkin. Truth be told, my kids and I know the spices in the pumpkin muffins by heart. We have a habit of chanting them as I head to the spice cabinet to get them. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice cloves. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice cloves. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice cloves. You get the idea!

Of course I'm guilty of not following this recipe exactly either. I decreased the sugar, used currants instead of cranberries, added some sunflower seeds, used oatmeal in place of some of the flour and all of the flour I did use was whole wheat. (I wanted it to be more of a breakfast than a dessert.)

While making these scones, I discovered a less than orthodox way of dealing with how to cool this sudden burst of after dinner cooking and still getting to bed quickly. You can't put hot stuff in plastic containers (well you could, if cancer doesn't scare you but I'm not going to) besides hot baked goods make condensation which leaves you with nasty, soggy stuff in the morning. I can't leave anything on the counter to cool because my dogs and cat think its a buffet just for them. What to do?

My solution was to turn the oven off a few minutes before the scones were done and leave them in the oven until morning. Wait, you might be screaming, you'll still have a soggy mess because you didn't put them on a wire rack to cool. True the underside was a bit moist, which sounds much better than soggy, but this was easily corrected by a little go round in the toaster oven. I wouldn't do this everytime but it sure got me out of a bind this time.

For anyone wondering what squash has to do with pumpkin scones, any winter squash can be used in place of pumpkin in recipes.