Getting Carried Away by Cinderella's Pumpkin

I first posted the following story several years ago. It's a tale of seasonal woe so I am re-posting it now, as I do most years at Hallowe'en. This is how it went.....

My friend Suzie was visiting this past weekend, so I took her to see our colourful local market with its abundance of fall produce. Rejoicing over the bounty of the harvest, I proceeded to load up on way, way too many vegetables. Our last stop was at the stall of an organic farmer who frequently arrives at the market in the fall with a cartload of incredibly interesting designer pumpkins, squashes and gourds. Having already purchased a perfectly acceptable Halloween pumpkin at Loblaws for $2.50, I'd pretty much convinced myself that additional pumpkin purchases were both unnecessary and wasteful. That was before I spied a large, squat, green and orange specimen sitting on the ground beside the cart, looking for all the world like Cinderella's carriage, and topped with a perfectly twisted  artisanal stem. With elbows out and adrenaline surging, I ran to grab the pumpkin and hoisted it to my chest by the fragile stem. Clearly under unreasonable strain, the stem promptly broke, allowing 300 pounds, or so, of vegetable matter to free fall to the cement. Remarkably, the pumpkin remained largely intact with only a couple of splits in its taut skin. (Later I realized that the flesh was about 6 inches thick all 'round and that it would've taken a jack hammer to cause any real damage). The owner of the pumpkin, who had carefully watched these antics, sauntered toward me. Recognizing an idiot when he saw one, the farmer informed me of the rarity of the vegetable genre. That's a "Russian fairy tale pumpkin de Provence" he mumbled, looking me straight in the eye. It sounded something like that at any rate. After a brief lecture on never lifting a pumpkin by its stem, he suggested crazy glue for easy repair, then charged me $10. He offered to keep the brutish vegetable at his stall until I could drive by with my car to pick it up, however, I was so mortified by the whole encounter that I could hardly wait to take off. I therefore refused his kind offer and struggled, hump-backed with pumpkin in arms, over the 200 yards to my parked vehicle. Thank God for strength training. 

 When I finally got the pumpkin home, (and realized that I didn't own crazy glue), I began to view it in a less illustrious light and so decided to pop the thing in the oven. Five hours later it was cooked. As a result, I have enough pumpkin in my freezer to feed a small village until well into next year. What can I say, I'm a sucker for foodstuff that is either really big or really small and has the word miniature, Mennonite, maple, fairy-tale or Provence in its name. For example, I frequently buy sweet-looking miniature aubergines. Since I don't know what to do with them, I keep them in my fridge until they rot, then put them in my green bin for composting.  

Here it is...the pumpkin in the oven. I know that it looks like I was baking a troll's bottom but I wasn't. My cell phone camera distorts things.

Marinated Tempeh and Broccoli by Sylvia

My sister Sylvia is an inventive cook. She devised this colourful Meatless Monday vegetarian dish on a recent Sunday. 

Tempeh is made from soybeans, although various beans, whole grains, and flavorings are often added. The soybeans are cooked and fermented, then packed into a brick-like cake. 

Ingredients:

• cooked quinoa or rice, whichever you prefer as a base
• 1 pkg red pepper tempeh  (or any tempeh) cut in strips. 
• 2 - 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp ginger/garlic/chili paste
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups parboiled broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup toasted whole almonds, about 15  per serving, or more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Ginger Mango chutney, optional 

Methods:

Place the tempeh in a ceramic or glass baking dish. Marinate it at room temperature for 1/2 hour in a mixture of the soy sauce, spicy (ginger/garlic/chili) paste of your choice, honey, and sesame oil.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Quickly parboil the broccoli in a pot of water. A minute should do it. Drain the florets then combine the onions and broccoli with a tablespoon of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the veggies on a sheet pan and bake them alongside the marinated tempeh in the oven for 15- 20 minutes.

Toast about 1/2 cup of whole almonds in a unoiled frying pan on top of the stove. 

Top your cooked quinoa or rice with the vegetables and tempeh. Sprinkle with almonds. Drizzle with chutney. This recipe serves 2.

Dutch Apple Pie

Not sure why this is called Dutch apple pie...perhaps the Dutch are wondering as well. I think it's because of the streusel, which is a sweet buttery crumb topping. Maybe it's inherently Dutch. Streusel often contains nuts which I omitted because not everyone is fond of nuts. 

Ingredients for the pie:

• one unbaked pastry crust (if using a store-bought crust make sure it is a high-quality one)  
• about 6 cups of peeled apples sliced
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 rounded teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Ingredients for the streusel topping:

• 1/2 cup of butter melted
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• pinch of salt

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a pastry crust in a pie pan and crimp the edges. Peel and slice 6 cups of apples and combine the apples with the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Fill the pastry crust with the apple mixture.

Mix the streusel ingredients with a fork in a small bowl. When totally mixed and crumbly, strew the streusel evenly over the top of the pie. Bake for about an hour or until the apple filling is bubbling.

Sweet Corn and Ricotta Sformato by Clare de Boer of NYT Cooking

What is a sformato you might ask? Well, it's not exactly clear to me. Appears that it might be a cross between a soufflé and a flan, that ends up, in this case, like a corn casserole. Just don't ask me for the pronunciation. At any rate, I made this recipe for a Thanksgiving (Canadian) weekend meal. It had a good flavour but I suspect the texture would have been different had it not been frozen prior to baking. Note to self: Do not freeze sformato.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
• about 5 cups of fresh off the cob corn kernels (6 cobs approx.)
• 2 tablespoons flaky sea salt
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups ricotta
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1& 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
• 4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• coarsely ground black pepper
• about 20 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 lemon juiced

Methods:

In a large skillet, soften the corn over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of flaky sea salt (not table salt). Transfer half of the corn to a food processor and puree with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Combine the remaining kernels with the puree and let cool.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. When the corn is cool, add the ricotta, heavy cream, sour cream, 1 cup Parm and remaining 1 tablespoon of flaky sea salt.

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks on a high speed. Stir the yolks into the ricotta mixture and then gently fold in the whites.

Rub the sides of a 6 by 10 or 8 by 8 baking dish with butter. Add 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and knock it around to coat the bottom and sides of the baking dish, then follow with a few grinds of pepper. Pour the ricotta batter into the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the sformata has set in the centre.

Grind the basil and lemon juice together with a mortar and pestle if you happen to have one. Add a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup oil.

Just before serving, top the sformata with some Parmesan and drizzle with the basil oil.

From the Victory Garden.....Squash Cornbread

 

Squash Cornbread in a pool of maple syrup

My sister Penelope loves her old Victory Garden cookbook with recipes by Marian Morash. This is one of those baked good recipes in which the addition of vegetable enhances the outcome. Cornbread can often be dry, but the addition of a single cup of cooked squash makes this cornbread moist and a very pretty colour too. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/4 packed cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1&1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup pureed (or mashed) cooked winter squash...either buttercup or butternut would work well
• 1/4 cup milk

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the corn meal, flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl. In a second larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar and beat until light. Add the eggs, lemon juice, squash and milk to the butter and sugar and beat. Gradually add the dry ingredients until everything is well-combined. Pour the batter into a buttered loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool, slice, then butter it up or drench it in maple syrup. Good either way. 

Baked Beans

Boston is famous for this dish although I'm not sure why. (Must Google that). Canadians like baked beans too.

Pretty much all recipes for baked beans involve cleaning and pre-soaking the rock hard navy beans, which can also harbour rocks by the way. The sweetening of the beans usually involves some combination of maple syrup, brown sugar and molasses. The more molasses you use, the deeper the colour of the beans. The more tomato-based ingredients you use, the redder the final products. Many recipes call for salt pork, bacon or diced ham to be added. Obviously, the dish is no longer vegetarian with those additions. The recipe that follows here calls for baking in a 225 degree F. oven. In my experience it doesn't have to be quite that low. The baking process is a long one but the texture and taste of these homemade beans is a treat.

Aunt Dorothy's bean pot from the Medicine Hat Pottery in Alberta

The finished product. They're sweet, they're savoury, they're romantic. No wait, they aren't romantic.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry beans (navy, A.K.A. great Northern) 2-1/3 cups
• water for soaking and precooking
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup or chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard or yellow hotdog mustard
• 3 cups water for cooking
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste

Rinsing and soaking the beans:

Rinse and sort the beans; remove any pebbles or debris.

Place the beans in a large bowl.

Fill with water in order to submerge the beans by at least two inches of water.

Soak overnight (8-12 hours).

Precooking the beans:

The next day, transfer the drained and re-rinsed beans to a large pot.

Re-fill with water and bring to a boil.

Turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Remove from the heat and rinse again.

The long slow bake in the oven:

Preheat your oven to 225°F.

Transfer the precooked beans to a Dutch oven or a bean pot, ensuring there is sufficient liquid to cover the beans. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook for approximately 6 hours. Add water to the pot as necessary during the long bake to avoid drying out the beans. 

Mushroom Bourguignon by Smitten Kitchen

My friend Lyndsay has demonstrated her culinary skills once again with a lovely presentation of a very classic-looking  bourguignon, which substitutes Portobello mushrooms for the beef. No braising required. The recipe, which was developed in the Smitten Kitchen of New York blogger Deb Perelman, feeds four. Lyndsay's father loved this dish and pronounced it very 'meaty'. 

 Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 pounds Portobello or cremini mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (don't use the stems)
• 1/2 carrot, finely diced
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup full-bodied red wine
• 2 cups beef broth 
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen)
• Egg noodles, for serving
• Sour cream and chopped chives or parsley, for garnish (optional)

Methods:

Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but have not yet released any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from the pan.

Lower the heat to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, diced onions, thyme, a few pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the diced onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add the wine to the pot, scraping any bits off the bottom, then turn the heat to high and reduce the liquid by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so the stew simmers for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more. (Note that Lyndsay put the pearl onions into the mix earlier to allow them to develop more flavour.)

Combine the remaining butter and the flour with a fork; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to your preferred consistency. Season to taste.

To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles and top with sour cream and a sprinkle of chives.

Fall Fruit - Apples

Southeastern and Southwestern Ontario apples on my coffee table from https://www.twinpinesorchards.com/ in Thedford, and http://www.smythsapples.com/ in Dundela, site of the original McIntosh apple (1811).

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

 In my previous post, I provided you with my friend Lyndsay's experimentation with sourdough during the pandemic lockdown. The following photo illustrates her success with another pandemic favourite.....frosted cinnamon rolls. Lyndsay describes these as "happiness in a pan". They also freeze beautifully, frosted or not.

Recipe from:

https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/cinnabons-cinnamon-rolls/

  

Sourdough: Bread and English Muffins

Recently I had occasion to meet with my friend Lyndsay, who just happens to live in a neighbourhood in a town that I lived in at her age 30 years ago.  I knew Lyndsay to be an accomplished baker, but she broadened her repertoire earlier this year during the pandemic lockdown to include sourdough breads. She shared these products with family and neighbours to rave reviews. Way to win friends and influence people Lyndsay. Way to bake through a lockdown.

Below are the recipes she used and Lyndsay's notes on these recipes.

Sourdough bread, recipe from:

https://alexandracooks.com/2017/10/24/artisan-sourdough-made-simple-sourdough-bread-demystified-a-beginners-guide-to-sourdough-baking/

Notes: 

1) I made my own starter from scratch after looking at a few sites.  It was a fun and successful science experiment.  

2) I always use the 100g of starter rather than 50g. But both options likely work well.  

3) I use a teeny bit more salt (12g ish) but I have Diamond Kosher salt that isn’t as ‘salty’ as most table salt.   

4) Through trial and error I’ve come around to believing that a longer second rise (a day to a day and a half) in the fridge is the way to go.  More time for the flavour to develop.  

5) This bread lasts very well sliced and sealed well in the fridge or freezer

Sourdough English Muffins, recipe from:

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-english-muffins-recipe

This was a fun project I’ve repeated several times to use up some of the sourdough starter discard.   My family agrees ‘tastes like an English muffin but better’

Notes: 

1) I don’t have the dry milk so I just use a bit more butter and water. 

2) And I skip the sour salt entirely. Not interested in extra fussy ingredients if they aren’t needed.  

 

Pumpkin Pie

There is nothing that signals autumn like a field of pumpkins. I love the shape, feel, and colour of pumpkins. And I especially love how they taste in a pie. 

This particular pumpkin is destined to become a Jack-o'-Lantern.

E.D. Smith has tinned pure fancy grade pumpkin since 1882. They know pumpkin. And they very kindly provide a recipe on the inside of their pumpkin tin label, which is what I will share with you now. 

Ingredients for one pie:

• 2 eggs
• 398 ml of E.D. Smith pure pumpkin (1/2 of a large tin)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 homemade or frozen deep dish pie shell ( if using a frozen shell get a high quality one)

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. 

Mix the first 8 ingredients together until they are well combined. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre of the pie comes out clean. 

Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

These are Phat Jack pumpkins.