Sugary soap box

It's Halloween, a day when candy consumption is just that... consuming. I just read this infographic on forbes.com titled "How much sugar are Americans eating?". It's astounding. Sugar is everywhere. Of all the things I work very hard to limit (pesticides, chemicals, medicine, screen time), sugar is right up there at the top of the list. I haven't posted many recipes lately but the kitchen continues to be my ultimate experiment - almost daily, working to concoct food for my family that is nutritious and delicious. Now, with the cooler temps, I'm back to baking - cookies, muffins, bread. And I use little-to-no sugar. Does a sugar-laden cookie taste delicious? You betcha! But can we train our tastebuds to appreciate and love something less sweet? Of course. I use a lot of applesauce (apple butter, without sugar, is great this time of year), local honey, REAL maple syrup, bananas - all of these have high levels of sweetness without the refined, processed, worthless-ness of sugar. Will Abby and Elise consume sugar-filled candy today? Yes. But are they included in the "average American" category who consumes an equivalent of SEVENTEEN sodas every 5 days? Absolutely not. 

Enjoy your sweets today - I told my mom yesterday that Halloween is dangerous. Her reply? Halloween is delicious - eat what you love and trash the rest. :) 

We had the 27th annual Passman Pumpkin Carving party last weekend - A & E woke up every morning for at least 5 days prior: "How many more days until pumpkin carving?". I love that it is already a family tradition that they are now old enough to remember... expect ... and love.

And today, Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch have been ready to roll since 7:30 this morning. We made our first round in costumes this morning - visit Bubbe, stop by The Merc. Second round after naps - Daddy's work. Third round this evening - dinner and trick or treating with the Walters. We'll just follow that yellow brick round all around town! We've listened to The Wizard of Oz soundtrack and read the book - once they're old enough for the movie, it'll be the Oz trifecta! :) Happy Halloween!

Guest post: Erika's Banana Pecan Scones

Ingredients:

1-3/4C. AP flour

1/4C. whole wheat flour

3T. brown sugar or Demerara* or Turbinado*

1T. baking soda

1/2t. kosher salt

9T. cold unsalted butter cut into pats (easier to blend in the food processor)

1t. ground cinnamon

1/4t. ground nutmeg

2/3C. chopped pecans

3/4C. mashed ripe/overripe banana

1/4C. greek yogurt (I like Fage 0%)

Demerara* or Turbinado* sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

• In a food processor, pulse flours, sugar, baking power, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and butter till the mixture looks like rough sand. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

• With a fork, blend flour mixutre with pecans till evenly distributed. Add yogurt and banana puree, blend well with a fork until most of the flour is combined. Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently til smooth or 3 turns. DO NOT-over knead, the scones will be tough and the warmth of your hands will melt the butter!!

• Form into a 9" circle that is about 3/4" high. With a bench scraper or knife cut the circle into 8 wedges and place on the parchment paper 2" apart. Sprinkle Demerara sugar on tops. Bake in middle of oven for 20-25 minutes til slightly brown. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. Eat warm or at room temp with a cold glass of moo juice! Good for breakfast or a snack.

*Natural brown sugar is brown sugar made by partially refining sugar cane extract, whereas most brown sugar is made by addingmolasses to fully refined sugar.

Golden coloured natural brown sugar is produced by extracting the juice from sugar cane, heating it to evaporate water and crystallise the sugar, then spinning in a centrifuge to remove some impurities and further dry the sugar. It is commonly used in baking and to sweeten beverages such as coffee and tea.

In the US, a similar sugar is commonly called turbinado sugar, after the centrifuges or turbines in which it is spun. In the United States, most turbinado sugar is produced in Hawaii and is often sold as an organic product. The popular Hawaiian product sold in the U.S. is produced on Maui and marketed under the name brand "Sugar in the Raw". There are slight differences in taste between turbinado and demerara sugar.

These types of natural brown sugar are typically paler and drier than what is normally sold as brown sugar, and have larger crystals. In general, they can be freely exchanged with brown sugar in recipes, although it may affect the flavor of a recipe calling for a lot of brown sugar, such as a blondie, and the moisture content will be slightly lower.

**Thanks, Erika! Scones are well-known in our house - our local health food store, The Merc, is Abby and Elise's favorite shopping spot. They recently each received $2.00 from their Great Grammy for their 2nd birthday and, when asked "What do you want to go buy?", Elise eagerly replied "the Merc... SCONE!", so I'd better be a good Momma and get baking! We always have turbinado and cane sugar in our kitchen - I prefer the taste and I think cane sugar is sweeter so I can often use a bit less when baking. -Erin**