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October 21, 2014

Oil For Everyday Cooking

I was looking for meals perfect for Fall that my family haven't tried. Then I noticed Pumpkin Seed Oil at the grocery store. It's pumpkin, hello?! The most ideal ingredient you can use for this season! What do you think? :)

Honestly though, I haven't tried it ever. This will be the first time I am actually going to use it. I really find it interesting because I eat pumpkin seeds a lot, since I was a kid!

Thankfully, there's a lot of recipe sites though only a few features great and user-rated recipes using pumpkin seed oil. As I shared with you before, I always and only use recipes rated 4.5 to 5 (highest). This Pumpkin Salad Dressing Recipe was rated perfect! I just go to try it. But before I start, I just wanted to make sure I thank Thorsten, for sharing this wonderful recipe via Food.com. If you check link to the recipe, you'll notice it has honey, but I do not have one at home so I substituted pancake syrup instead. Almost comparable with regards to sweetness and consistency anyway.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Seed Oil Dressing
My husband took these photos and I thought he was more excited than I do. I haven't tried a home-made dressing and I never imagined how easy it was. Well, I just got to run to the nearest store to buy balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard. I think some of you might have them at home already, I just used up mine and I am not really a huge fan of mustard.

Home-made salad dressing!
Anyway, for this recipe, I asked my husband's thoughts. He said he can't complain about the dressing. He loved it and even told me to prepare more for our guests next week! I promised I will but I'd have to do it a few hours before actually using it to preserve it's freshness. He's got a comment about the ingredients I put in the salad though. He said with a dressing like pumpkin seed oil, I should not use croutons because they tend to absorb a lot of dressing that it loses it's crunchiness. It also makes it too flavorful that doesn't taste good anymore. He next time, I better put on bleu cheese. Yes, bleu, because the recipe was made by a French, at least that's what I think. LOL!
Nutty and Flavorful
Another meal I prepared to go with the salad was Spicy Garlic Pasta. For this I just used spaghetti, minced garlic, a dash of salt, crushed chili then sprayed it with extra virgin olive oil (so it won't taste and look dry). It was rather quick and simple. You'll probably find all of the ingredients in your pantry.
Extra Virgine Olive Spray Oil
Again, my husband had something to say about my trial recipe. He said quite a few things, first, for guests preference, do not put too much crushed chili pepper. It's easy to add anyway. Next, he said I forgot the cheese and the cheddar or pepperjack cheese in our fridge would work. (He actually put some on his and I was not able to take a photo of it.) Last but not the least, he said put a lot of minced garlic or better yet, put a fried garlic. Mmm. I guess I have the best food critique at home. Haha!
Spicy Garlic Pasta
Overall, I think the recipes were great. Just look at the empty pasta plate and salad with only croutons left. By the way, that's my critique's plate. :P
Empty salad plateEmpty pasta plate
Wait, I almost forgot about the dessert. I guess he was too full to even try it so I was the one who ate it. For this Roasted Walnut Cookie Crumble Muffin, I used basic butter cake recipe and added some crushed oreo cookies! Also, a few minutes before actually removing it from the oven, I sprayed some roasted walnut oil on top for a nutty taste. The rest, I just added for presentation. :)
Roasted Walnut Cookie Crumble Muffin
I just realized that I can do so much with bottles or cans of oil! Like the La Tourangelle products I used. What more, they are in easy to use spray cans (which are non-aerosol by the way). To share, you can check out more of their products at LaTourangelle.com, you might just your own set of favorite oils! They even have organic and Non-GMO ones. The non-aerosol propellent-free spray oils I believe are one of their newer products. Don't you love the products' aesthetic look? I sure do!
La Tourangelle - Organic and Specialty Oils
Now... I guess my husband would be delighted if I serve him this kind of food everyday. Looks and tastes like take-out meals from the restaurant, tee-hee! I think I'll look and experiment more recipes using oil. I just noticed they add a unique flavor to everyday meals. Next time, I hope to prepare a meal using the roasted walnut oil.
Used a different oil for each! :)
How about you, what kind of oil do you usually use? What do you have at home?

DISCLOSURE
I was not paid to do a review of the products mentioned above. I was given samples to facilitate my review but everything was based on my honest opinion of the product.

27 comments :

  1. I would love to try this.. at this point in my diet, i am not allowed to use any oils.. i will try when i am done with this.

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  2. I really don't use a heck of a lot of different oils when I cook. I need to expand my horizons :)

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  3. Those are interesting. I've never seen anything like that. Thanks for the spotlight. All the food looks great...your husband sounds like a fun critic. I do not mind critics who are thoughtful and purposeful with their critique!

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  4. Thank you for sharing, I am always looking for new things! I love that you shared this!

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  5. You have just inspired me to make a dressing at home! I've got to try these.

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  6. Thank you for sharing! I am not much of a cook but both my mom and my boyfriend are!

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  7. I have never tried pumpkin seed oil before. I do use a ton of coconut oil though!

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  8. I always like to make my dressing at home, it tastes a lot better compared to store bought dressing.

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  9. I also am not a huge fan of mustard. My mom loves to put it in sandwiches though. The roasted walnut cookie crumble muffin looked yummy!

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  10. I usually cook with extra virgin olive oil as well as plain old vegetable oil. This is a very interesting product. I'll have to check it out.

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  11. I didn't know you could pumpkin spice oil it sounds interesting. I will have to find it and try it out. I usually just use olive oil when I cook.

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  12. Oh goodness that pasta looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I never used pumpkin seed oil. I have a new kitchen idea.

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  14. I love this all natural olive oil spray. I love the convenience of cooking with sprays, but I don't like what it takes to make them a spray. Thanks for sharing this.

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  15. these look worth trying. Your photographs are great!

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  16. We just use vegetable oil. I like the spray idea but their expensive for the size I find.

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  17. We love to make dressing at home, but I've never thought of using pumpkin oil. We typically use olive or coconut oil.

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  18. I cook with olive oil so your post has made me believe that I should try others as well. Thanks!

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  19. Pumpkin oil, sounds very interesting. I love walnut oil, it makes any dish savory with a click of a spray.

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  20. My hubby is French and seems have this natural knack of knowing how to use these "unusual" flavored oils and it always turns out deliciously! Bravo for trying them out and for your hubby being a good guinea pig!

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  21. I tend to use an extra virgin olive oil but I don't have it in a spray version. These are quite convenient.

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  22. Would love to try the spicy garlic pasta you made! :) easy to cook and prepare..
    I don't know if we have pumpkin oil here, but will the salad looks awesome!

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  23. Pumpkin salad dressing sounds interesting. I will have to try that.

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  24. I have never heard of these oils but they sound amazing. I would love to use them in my recipes. The Walnut spray oil sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. I am always looking for new things to try in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing about it. :)

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  26. These sound great to mix up your flavors when cooking.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!