Pumpkin Pie

For me pumpkin pie is completely hit or miss.  I've had some that was not so good and some that was great.  Given my recent obsession with roasting pumpkins, it is only natural that I'd attempt to make my own pie, even though I've never done it before.  I started off by roasting two small sugar pumpkins (why make one pie when you can make two?) and pureeing the flesh in a food processor.  I modified this recipe from Spiced Pumpkin Pie from allrecipes.com to create this healthy, delicious desert.  I didn't know pumpkin pie could be this good...I am never using canned pumpkin again.  The quantities I've given are for two pies, so just half them for one pie.  Most of the substitutions I made were purely due to availability (I ran out of pumpkin pie spice and I forgot to buy brown sugar) except for the milk--I am lactose intolerant, and the almond milk worked well.


Spiced Pumpkin Pie
makes 2
 4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
12 fluid ounces of almond milk
2 9 inch unbaked pie crusts

1.  Preheat oven to 35o degrees Fahrenheit.  
2.  In a medium bowl mix together the pumpkin, egg subsitute, sugar, molasses, spices, and almond milk.
3.  Pour half of the pumpkin pie mixture into each of the pie crusts.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 80 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The five spice powder gives it an interesting complexity.  If you use evaporated milk like the original recipe calls for, you may want to double the amount because it is so much thicker than almond milk.  Try the recipe and let me know what you think!

Bottoms Up, Charlie Brown!

Ok, I've gotta stop with the "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" references that no one outside of my own head will understand.  Last week I read a ravelry post about making your own pumpkin infused vodka.  Given my recent obsession with sugar pumpkins and the fact that I have enjoyed many a home-infused fruity vodka in my time, a fire was lit under me in no time.  I had to make my own pumpkin vodka.  Luckily I also had the perfect pumpkin-loving vodka-swilling partner in crime, so we set out to mix up our concoction last Friday night.  Want to spice up your Halloween or Thanksgiving with your own version of the Great Pumpkin Martini (geez, there I go again...)?  Here's what we did:

Pumpkin Vodka
Materials:  
1 Qt. Mason Jar (any jar that seals will work--food safe seal not necessary.  We're not canning here, people.  Besides, doesn't alcohol kill germs?)  
2.5 C triple distilled vodka
.75 C vanilla triple distilled vodka
2 cinnamon sticks
2 split vanilla bean pods or a dash or two of vanilla extract
1 sugar pumpkin, no larger than 3 lbs
cheesecloth or coffee filter for straining

Procedure:
1.  Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out the guts.  Check out Elana's Pantry for a fabulous hand-holding photo tutorial on how to do this.   This time I had four hands rather than two to hack open the pumpkin, but that didn't make it much easier.
2.  Roast the pumpkin in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, just long enough to get the raw taste out. 
3.  After the pumpkin cools, cut it into wedges.  Stuff the wedges in your mason jar along with the cinnamon and vanilla.  You may not be able to fit the whole pumpkin in just yet. 
4.  Add the vodka.  As the ingredients settle add more pumpkin if you still have some left over.  Add more vodka in the previously stated proportions as desired.  Fill that jar up!
5.  Seal the jar and store in a cool dark place (we have ours in the fridge) for 2-4 weeks.  The more natural your ingredients (aka vanilla bean pods instead of extract) the longer it will take for the flavors to seep out and flavor the liquor.
6.  Move the jar around daily to make sure all of the vodka touches the pumpkin.
7.  Strain the liquid through your cheesecloth or coffee filter.
8.  Mix up a pumpkin pie martini and enjoy!


I'm not linking a Pumpkin Pie martini recipe because I can't find one I like.  Who needs heavy cream in their liquor?  Yuck, not me!  I'll get back to you after I've personally sampled and crafted the perfect drink.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Despite my mother's warning, I was determined to cook a whole pumpkin for...well, for something.  After a little recipe searching and asking some ravelry peeps for advice, I decided on a Caribbean Pumpkin Black Bean Soup.  Now I can't find the recipe I liked best so I am going to make up my own, and of course I'll share it with you all!  But before we get to that, let me tell you a little bit about how I turned a whole fresh pumpkin into about 2.5 cups of fresh puree. 

Thanks to Elana's Pantry, I was confident about conquering and chopping up my little (actually a little too big) sugar pumpkin.  After all, I just have to cut it in half, clean out the seeds and pulp, and roast each half in a pan filled with a quarter inch of water.  No biggie.  I've peeled awkwardly shaped raw butternut squashs with a giant knife and gingerly shaved the prickly skin off of countless slippery pineapples with the same giant knife.  Well, maybe my giant knife wasn't quite sharp enough, because cutting a pumpkin in half, even a small one, is hard!  I'd rank it up there somewhere with giving yourself a bikini wax (awkward and painful) and giving a screaming cat a flea bath (simply put, hell in a bathtub).  My knife actually got stuck in the top of the pumpkin like a scene from a horror movie!  Too bad I didn't get a picture of that...when I finally separated the pumpkin halves I let out an audible sigh of relief.

Cleaning out the pumpkin was no biggie.  Of course I saved my seeds for roasting.  Squeezing the slimey pulp through my fingers used to be (ok, still is) my favorite part of carving Jack-O-Lanterns.  I managed to refrain from doing that today, but  mostly because I didn't want to get any slime on my nice sweater.  Mental note:  get an apron.  After 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven, I had this:

Pumpkin seeds gently flavored with my favorite Pampered Chef Sweet and Smoky Barbeque Rub, and a beautiful roasted pumpkin! 

Close up of my delicious roast pumpkin flesh

And the soup my pumpkin became:

Caribbean Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

3 cups of pumpkin puree or roasted pumpkin (to be blended later)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 sweet onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons minced ginger
1 15 oz can of light coconut milk
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and well rinsed
salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Heat oil in soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and cumin.  Saute until slightly softened.  Add pumpkin, ginger, coconut milk, 1 can of tomatoes (if  you will not be using an immersion blender add both cans of tomatoes now), chili powder, and vegetable broth.  Heat through.  Use immersion blender to blend the soup until it is about 80% liquified.  Blending is optional, but recommended if you are using whole roasted pumpkin.  Add black beans and second can of tomatoes (if not already added).  Bring to a boil and season to taste. 

All Things Orange

An Autumn Bounty of Orange

Fall officially begins this week, and I have been feeling the pull of the changing season.  My usual color palate tends toward the cool tones of blues, greens, and teals.  Intentionally or not, almost everythng I knit, wear, and carry falls within those parameters.  However, lately I've been craving warm, rich tones of orange, and this little collection I've recently built up shows it.  [Clockwise, from far left] I have on display here Madelinetosh Merino Light in Terra, orange and white lilies from my dear friend Leah's bridal shower, a sugar pumpkin, Farmhouse Yarns Bonnie's Bamboo in Terracotta, Madelinetosh Lace in Warm Maize, and Lotus Yarns Chakra in Lena.  Those are all ravelry links.  Sorry, non-ravelers!

I've been noticing and admiring my once-detested color, orange, more and more lately but last week I suddenly decided that I needed a yellow-orange cardigan and I needed it now.  Instead of going out to the Lim$ited like most normal people, I endeavored to knit the sweater myself.  I picked out the perfect yarn (Tosh Lace in Warm Maize) and cast on pretty much immediately for the Featherweight Cardigan.  I plan on lengthening it at least 2 or 3 inches and employing short rows to make the collar shawl-collar-ish.  Yes, I do still have my second Malabrigo Sock version of Hestia on the needles, and done. Why I thought it would be a great idea to cast on another lightweight mostly stockinette sweater, I don't know.  But I do know that I'm a happy knitter and pretty soon I'll be a happy sweater wearer.

As for the rest of the orange goodies in my above photo, I have plans to make some delicious sweaters, accessories, and dishes.  The TML is destined to become a Hamamelis Shawl, and the Bonnie's Bamboo is set aside for Lonicera, both patterns by Through The Loops.  I love nearly everything Kirsten Kapur does, but I am especially excited for these two as I've been searching for the perfect yarn for Hamamelis for a while, and I had the good fortune to try on the sample for Lonicera while it was temporarily living at Angelfire Studios.  Good gravy, was that simple sweater sexy on me!  I was somewhat shocked that the same sweater that fits tall and skinny Sofie so well looked like it was made for the me (substantially shorter and curvier), but I guess that's the beauty of this design.  The drapey fronts lend it to many different style options, and the bamboo draped over my curves just perfectly.  I've worked with Bonnie's Bamboo before, so I know it is just a dream to knit with and I can barely wait to cast on.

The only other item pictured that I currently have a plan for is that adorable sugar pumpkin.  When I proudly told my mother that I had bought a pumpkin exclusively for cooking, not for carving, she was not impressed.  She asked me what I planned on doing with it.  When I told her I intend to cook it somehow she gave me a sideways look and said "I did that once when your father and I were first married.  I never did it again."  I'm sure plenty of women say that about one task or another, but I am unfazed.  I'm going to roast that baby and turn it into something delicious--probably Caribbean Pumpkin Black Bean Soup.  Look for a blog post about that later this week!