Pumpkin and Squash

I have posted about our pumpkin adventures here and here. We have updated and refined the process over the years. This year we only had a few pumpkins but also had banana squash, hubbard squash and butternut squash. We cooked and combined all of these for our "pumpkin" this year. Most store bought canned pumpkin is not actually pumpkin, many other squash have similar flavors but smoother consistency.

In our usual routine we de-seeded and cut up the squash. 

The best and easiest way to cook the pumpkin is...in my pressure cooker! Usually used for canning we have found it is great for cooking large quantities of things like potatoes and squash too. The pan is large and it cooks easily.

Once cooked we run it through Kitchen Aid mixer food mill attachment (I love this attachment). We can then freeze the puree and are set for another year.

I Like Big Bundts 2011

It's that time of year again! My friend Mary the Food Librarian celebrates National Bundt Day with 30 days of bundts, crazy and awesome!! For my submission this year I selected the Pumpkin Spice Bundt from Day 10. It was easy to make and tasted great. I took it to a potluck and was told by one person all made them want a pumpkin spice latte.

Canning Part III

Yes it is true...the canning continues. Luckily the tomato harvest has slowed down, for awhile we were getting 12 lbs a week! We have made quite a lot of the Tomato Basil Simmer Sauce mention earlier. This weekend my CSA offered a 20 lb box of Granny Smith for $10, you can not beat that price so it was time to can apples and catch up on the blog.

Lets start with Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves

You might notice the table cloth, Katie picked it for Halloween which of course means it goes on the table now. The recommended serving is to pour it over something like brie and eat it with crackers. Sounds good to me. We found this recipe on the internet.

Tomato Salsa

This is a basic salsa but used up a ton of peppers. It came from Joy of Pickling.

These are Refrigerator Pickled Tomatillos

I have not tried them yet but hear they are pretty good. These also come from Joy of Pickling.

To start off the apple here is Spiced Apple Rings

 These are yummy! The recipe came from You Can Can.

Spiced Apple Chutney

I am really liking these chutney's, this winter we will be making a lot of roasts slathered in these.

Apple Preserves

(the photo is dark, I forgot to get a picture when there was still light outside) We made biscuits tonight and tried these preserves, the taste reminds me of ginger ale, tart and gingery. It comes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Maple Apple Onion Relish

This one I think will be really good. It comes from The Complete Book of Pickling.

The Box

A few months ago I heard about a CSA that was actually in our area. When I lived in Anaheim there were several as well as many farmers markets. Where we live there are not nearly the amount of fresh fruit and vegetable options. Abundant Harvest Organics is the company that I learned about. In December I signed up and we have been picking up a box every Saturday. This has greatly expanded the variety of vegetable we have been eating as well as just being food that actually tastes good. Their citrus is amazing.

Here is what the box looks like, I picked up an extra leek this last weekend.

Now lets look inside

The first layer has a variety of citrus, lavender

Below that is some cabbage, broccoli and potatoes.

And finally there is another leek, shallots, butternut squash and carrots.

Each week the box contents changes and it is seasonal. They also have add ons which I have gotten a few time which add a little extra to the box and usually disappear fast, we have added grapefruit, beets and oranges so far. The web site has recipes for most of the items you could get in your box which help with a some of the more obscure items and gives ideas for new things to try.

Lactation Cookies

While surfing around some baby message boards I came across a recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies. While they may sound weird they simply use lots of oats, flax seed and brewers yeast. These three items are reported to increase the supply of milk if you are breast feeding. I have not been able to find brewers yeast yet and had ground flax seed instead of meal but the cookies came out pretty good. Mike asked if they would make him lactate too, but I think he is safe!

Yummy!

Marble Bark

I found this recipe in a magazine many years ago, cut it out and make it just about every year. It is very simple and only has three ingredients 6oz of white chocolate, 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 cup of coconut.

To start the coconut gets toasted in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The coconut needs to be stirred around every minute or two to keep it from burning. It should turn to a golden brown color.



The chocolate is then melted in the microwave. This year I used chocolate chips but you can also use the squares of baking chocolate.



When the chocolate starts melting you need to do a lot of stirring and make sure not to burn the chocolates.



Next divide the coconut putting half in the white chocolate and half in the semi-sweet chocolate.



On a wax paper lined cookie sheet spread out one of the chocolates in a sort of random pattern.



Then fill in the spaces with the other chocolate, I try to smooth or flatten it out as I go.



To marble the candy run a knife through in each direction.



I then put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator over night to let it solidify, this morning I broke the bark up into bite size pieces and put it back in the refrigerator till I am ready to wrap it up to give out.

Sugared Cranberries

Since I finished my last pre-Christmas sewing this morning its now time to turn towards holiday baking. We will see how much I actually have the energy to finish. Normally I make quiet a bit of holiday treats but I cut the list way back this year. However I did find a few new recipes to try out, this is one of them. It is from Cooking Light December 2003.

First I sorted and cleaned the fresh cranberries.



Next the sugar and water are heated into a syrup.



And brought to a simmer, if it gets too hot the berries will pop.



The berries are added to the syrup and they sit in the refrigerator over night. Next you roll the berries in superfine sugar, if you don't have superfine sugar you can just toss the sugar in a food processor for a minute.



Mix the sugar and berries in a shallow dish and them put on a cookie sheet to dry.



The berries have to dry for an hour then can be sealed up and stored. I have not tried them yet but they look like they would be yummy and they are very pretty.

Pumpkin Pie

Things have been quiet around here lately since we have been getting ready for the little ones arrival. However I decided to make a pumpkin pie yesterday with a real homemade pie crust. I tried this recipe. It made three crusts which you freeze, I still have two in the freezer. The crust was fairly simple and came out pretty good, better than the rolled up store bought ones. I will definitely use the other two crusts at some point, I like the idea of having them ready to go in the freezer. As for the pie... enjoy the picture because the pie is already gone!