Pumpkin Bread

A few years ago, a missionary friend talked me into volunteering to cook at a summer bible camp. I had visions of baking wonderful foods for the children who would, because of my culinary prowess, love and admire me. When I arrived with my truck load of organic vegetables, organic whole-grain flours of all sorts, and whole-grain pastas, I was shiny-faced and excited to prepare uber-healthful foods so the children would be healthy and thriving. Then, I cooked. This is what I learnt:

1. Children hate foods that are healthful.
2. Children have evil powers of persuasion (it looks a lot like mournful sadness).
3. Children, especially female children, would rather starve themselves to death (yes, actual death) than eat anything that even vaguely looks like it might have nutritional value.
4. Children do not like whole-wheat bread, no matter how carefully and lovingly it has been prepared.

By the end of the first week I was putting sugar in the spaghetti sauce. BUT! I did figure out a way to get them to eat healthful bread. Enter, pumpkin bread.*cues the angels* You, and even the very small controlling people who live with you, will love this bread. It is exquisitely moist, has a lovely thin crust, and the subtlest hint of pumpkin flavour.

• 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 4 tbsp. butter, cut into small bits
• 1-1/2 c. very hot water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-1/4 c. pureed pumpkin (bake and puree fresh pumpkin if possible, otherwise canned is ok, too)
• 4 tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 4-5 c. bread flour
• 1 egg, beaten (for washing the loaves)
• 2 tbsp. sunflower seeds

Mix together the yeast and 1/2 cup warm water; cover; set aside for approximately 10 minutes, until it is foamy. Place the hot water and butter in a large bowl; stir until the butter has melted. Add 1 cup of bread flour to the water/butter mixture; stir for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt, egg, pumpkin, brown sugar, yeast mixture, and whole-wheat flour. Stir for 2 minutes. Add bread flour, 1 cup at a time, until it forms a soft dough, which will be sticky, but not so soft that you can't pick it up. Turn out on lightly floured surface; knead, adding flour as needed, until the dough forms a soft ball that is smooth, soft, and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray; cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for about 40 minutes, until double in size. Turn the raised dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly to partially de-gas; divide the dough into two equal parts and shape each into a loaf. If you choose to use a loaf pan, a greased 9 x 5 x 3" pan works well, otherwise, use a greased cookie sheet. Let the loaves rise for another 30 minutes, or until double in size. Right before placing the loaves in the oven, brush them with the second beaten egg and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds. Slash each loaf on the diagonal. Place the loaves on the center rack of an oven that has been preheated to 400f. Mist the loaves with water then quickly close the oven. After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350f and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, until the loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Nom nom nom!! Enjoy! :D

5:00

Purist Pumpkin Pie

Some things are so perfect, they shouldn't be messed with. Pumpkin pie is one of those things. Classic pumpkin pie trumps any of the 'improved' versions you might be tempted to try, and if you are a purist, you not only stick to a recipe that has been around for decades, you go to a field, pick a pumpkin, bake it, then puree it to make your pie. Making your own pastry is a given (using a store-bought crust would be sacrilegious and bring down upon you, and all of your descendants to the 7th generation, horribly bad karma). Do it old-school - the end product is worth it and you will impress the hell out of everyone, most of whom have never had a made-from-scratch pie. So send everyone away, put some good music on (this is a good place to start), assemble your pie, then sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the oven, watching your pie turn golden, feeling like a modern Julia Child, inhaling the warm aroma of tradition that seeps from your oven.

Filling

• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 4 c. baked pumpkin, squished to drain of excess moisture, then pureed (canned plain pumpkin may be used if you are not going for the Julia Child experience :)
• 2 3/4 c. evaporated milk (I use evaporated milk because it is low-fat - use heavy cream instead if you like.)
• 4 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 425f. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Place in preheated oven; bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375f. Bake for an additional 45 - 60 minutes, until toothpick (or sharp, thin knife) inserted in middle comes out clean.

Pastry Crust

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. shortening
• 7 tbsp. ice water

Place flour in a medium bowl; add salt; stir. Using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour until it forms a coarse, crumbly mixture. Using a fork, gently stir in the cold water. Mix only until the dough forms a ball. Use your hands to squish it together a bit if needed, but do not knead! Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface; line a large pie plate (2 inches deep). Trim the excess from the edges of the pan if there is dough hanging over the edges. Use the excess to make pastry leaves for garnish.

5:00

Spiced Whole Wheat and Oats Bread Rolls

Sometimes subtlety is very good thing. Case in point: these rolls. I wanted to make a bread roll that has an interesting flavour profile - something more complex than the usual bread flavour - so I added a bit of allspice to the dough, then topped the rolls with anise. The result is pure love and goes really well with the squash soup I made. Not everything I make turns out so well, though. The day before yesterday I unintentionally crafted what could be a very effective bread-based melee weapon... :P Check my personal blog later today for details.

• 1 c. bread flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
• 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c. milk
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 3/4 - 1 3/4 c. bread flour

In a large bowl, or stand mixer bowl, combine first four ingredients. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine milk, butter, and honey. Heat to 130 - 140F (very warm, but not boiling). Pour into the oats and flour mixture; stir well. Add beaten egg. Mix well for two minutes then let the rest for 10 minutes.

Add whole wheat flour and allspice to the wet dough mixture. Mix well. Add bread flour 1/2 cup at a time, while mixing, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will still be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead, adding flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough into a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until dough is double in size.

Punch down the dough until almost all of the bubbles are expelled. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and shape into rolls. Place onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes, or until dough rolls are double in size.

Just before placing the rolls in the oven, beat one egg and brush the rolls. Sprinkle the rolls with oatmeal and anise seeds.

Bake at 375F for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

5:00

Squash Soup

A few days ago, I woke to find my car covered with thick frost. I was both delighted and disappointed. It means that summer is gone, but it also means that autumn is upon us. It is now the season of warm socks, sweaters, scarves (yay! scarves!) and soup. This luscious, slightly spicy soup is one of my favourites as it is hearty, but very healthful, and can be thrown together in 45 minutes, making it ideal for preparing after work.

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp balti curry powder
• *1 1/2 - 3 lbs squash (butternut or acorn), peeled, and cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 2 medium apples, peeled and diced
• 3 14 ounce cans of low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup apple juice
• 12 oz low-fat evaporated milk

*Consider this amount to be a mere suggestion. For some magic reason that I don't understand, a large squash or a medium squash can be used. If you use a particularly large squash, just add an extra can of chicken broth.

In a large stock pot, saute onion in the vegetable oil. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add apples and curry seasoning; stir. Add squash, apples, chicken broth, and apple juice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the squash and apples are tender. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Using a kitchen blender, blend until the soup is smooth. Return to the stock pot; add evaporated milk. Stir well. Garnish each bowl with cracked pepper and fresh thyme or sage leaves.

Enjoy!

5:00

La Rossa by Birra Moretti

La Rossa

• Appearance: Rich, deep caramel.
• Aroma: This has a really nice nutty aroma.
• Flavour: When it first hits your palate there is a hoppy bitterness followed by a mildly sweet finish that then reverts to slightly bitter. Subtle caramel and nutty flavours. It is really quite nice.
• Mouthfeel: Not quite what I would call creamy but it is definitely smooth. It has just enough body to form a nice head.
• Overall impression: This is a really nice beer with just enough complexity to be interesting, but not so much so that you wouldn't be able to enjoy a few over the course of an evening.

Summary (each characteristic on a scale of 1-10, where one is very poor and 10 is excellent):

• Appearance: 9
• Aroma: 8
• Flavour: 8
• Mouthfeel: 8
• Overall impression: 8

Total: 41/50

I have recently developed a strong appreciation for Fridays and an equally strong dislike for painting. I dislike painting almost as much as I dislike Jello...or vanilla pudding. OH! Cilantro = supreme evil. Mondays are like cilantro. Mondays are to cilantro as Fridays are to La Rossa. I don't even know what that means. What I do know is that you should try my new favourite beer. When I first bought it several weeks ago, I took a photo as I always do, then sat down to sip and write. I so thoroughly enjoyed it that I never got around to writing. I simply sat and enjoyed. However, as I am a stick-to-it kind of girl, I thought I should buy a couple more bottles and give it another go. *cracks open a bottle, pours, admires, sip....sip....sip...does not write* Do you see a pattern here? Third time is the charm. The things I do for this blog.

In any case, if you can find this beer, you should buy some. It is lovely. You should also check out my even more personal blog. See that link over there on the right? Don't click it. Srsly.

5:00