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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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

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. :)

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!

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.

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.