Pumpkin Scones

Each fall I feel compelled try at least one thing from The Pumpkin Cookbook.This year's recipe was pumpkin scones. It is important to note that none of the recipes in this book are created with canned pumpkin, each recipe calls for an actual pumpkin. The ingredient list for this one says to use 1/3 of a small pumpkin, "about six ounces". I did not weigh the pumpkin I bought. Rather I guesstimated.

Once I took out the seeds and fibers, I cut the pumpkin into wedges, removed the skin, and grated the flesh. Next I blended together 2 cups of flour, a pinch of salt, 1 t. baking powder, and 1/4 c. of butter. I did actually use my electric blender because the recipe said to use a food processor (and such an apparatus I do not own). I won't be trying that again. What a mess, and so unevenly mixed. Next time I will simply use a pastry cutter.

3 T. sugar was added to the mix and then 1/2 c. chopped candied ginger, along with the grated pumpkin. I added 1/3 cup of evaporated milk, but the mix was too sticky, so I had to add some more flour until the dough was a better texture for rolling. I rolled out the dough and used a the edge of a glass in lieu of a cookie cutter to cut out rounds, and then brushed the top of each scone with milk. The scones baked for 10 minutes at 425.

Not much flavor from the "essence of pumpkin" but a seasonal ginger spiciness came through nicely.

Paper Sack Fish Fillets

It turns out that October is National Cookbook Month - who knew? James and I were glad to discover this in time to be able to take advantage of it, since we haven't been keeping up with this blog every week of late as was the original intention.

I pulled out a never-before-used cookbook - Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook by Martha Hall Foose. I don't remember when or where we picked this up, but it is definitely one of the newer additions to our collection. This looks way more complicated than it is, and was fun to make, too.

The recipe calls for Catfish, but it was unavailable at our local fishmonger, so we bought some haddock fillets instead. In lieu of lunch sacks, I found two plain brown gift bags in my closet (reused from gifts I'd received - I try to reuse resources whenever possible) and then followed the instructions to spray the bags with cooking spray and then created the sauce with melted butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. I poured some of the sauce over each filet, along with some pepper. Then then carefully placed each fillet into it's own sack along with a slice of lemon and a sprig of dill. I pulled out the twine handle from each bag and used them to tie the end of the bags closed. The fish baked at 350 for 10 minutes.

 The bags puffed up in the hot oven making for a lovely effect when serving. 

As the recipe directed I sliced the bags open at the table "for maximum effect".  

Applesauce!

My last post told of my adventures in apple harvesting and a simple bread-machine recipe using some of my bounty. Over the weekend I used some more of the fruit to make applesauce. I found an easy recipe in my trusty old Deborah Madison Cooks at Home cookbook. After peeling and slicing the apples I put them in a big pot with a bit of water, lemon juice, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Madison suggested using sugar or honey, and cinnamon or cloves, but I knew more was better in this case. I let the ingredients cook on the stovetop until the apples broke down into a chunky sauce.

 We had some as a side dish for the tuna steaks with mushroom sauce James made for dinner, and also used it as a topping on our waffles the next morning.

The last bit of sauce was added as an ingredient to a big skillet cake that we shared for breakfast on Monday.

Of Apples and Libraries

Many years ago (perhaps 14?) we planted two apple trees in our backyard. A few years ago we noticed one apple on one of the trees, and expected that there would be more, but, alas, we waited in vain. Then, a few weeks ago, James came in from the yard with a surprise. He had picked five apples off one of the trees. And a few days later we noticed that the tree was bursting forth with fruit.

We were undeterred by the fact that they were too high for us to reach because Pam knew that the Maxwell Library (where she works) had an apple picker that could be checked out! Off we went to the library and returned with said picker and with such Pam picked a basket full of apples! Of course we returned the picker the next day because that's how libraries work.

Of course it is no good to pick backyard apples without using them in a new recipe! 

We marvel that our 21-year old bread machine still works. And fortunately the tattered manual includes a recipe for Apple Walnut Loaf. Still more good news - we already had walnuts, as well as all the other ingredients we needed. This was a "Quick Bread" so it needed no yeast and only took 100 minutes in the machine once everything was in the pan. 

Fresh from the machine!

We both enjoyed a slice with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

Brownie Sundaes

On Saturday we planned a picnic dinner to take to the Westport Rivers Sunset Music concert. We reprised a favorite from last summer - Ham and Havarti Sanwiches with Peach-Mustard spread and had stopped at the Huttleston Marketplace in Fairhaven beforehand in hopes of buying some good bulkie rolls from Cyd's Kitchen. Alas, they had no rolls, but the proprietors did manage to talk us into buying some sweets for dessert - brownies and "brookies" (a combo brownie/chocolate chip cookie bar - which was divine)!

We still had two brownies left on Monday, and I (Pam) realized that we had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer. All we needed was some chocolate sauce in order to make brownie sundaes for a special Labor Day treat. I knew we had some cocoa powder in the cupboard, so I checked online for a simple chocolate syrup recipe. Allrecipes came through with an easy recipe that included only ingredients I already owned.

A perfect treat for a hot end of summer day. So glad I thought of it!

Coconut Shrimp

I am the first person to admit that I am hard to buy presents for, which is why I tell people not to get me gifts. I already have more than enough stuff, and I can afford to buy myself just about anything that anyone I know can afford to buy for me, so if I want or need something I will just take care of it myself. With this said I have to say that my in-laws really came through with a recent gift of a variety-pack of flavored salts. Each flavor also had a recipe card, so when James asked what he should pick up at the fishmonger on Tuesday I suggested shrimp so I could try my hand at the Grilled Coconut Shrimp (see photo below), even though I wouldn't have a grill.

Instead of skewering the shrimp (as indicated) with the pineapple and scallions, I stir fried everything in our indispensable cast-iron skillet. It didn't take long. I heated some basil-infused olive oil in the pan, while I whisked the salt, honey, chopped scallions, and soy sauce together. Once the mix was in the skillet I added the shrimp and cooked for two minutes, then turned the shrimp over and added the pineapple chunks and cooked for one minute more. All flavors came through for a sweet and savory meal.

As a rule I don't like coconut (or pineapple), but I do like coconut shrimp (and piña coladas)!

Pasta and Sausage

We sometimes include local breakfast sausage in our weekly order from Crescent Ridge (yes, an old-school milk truck comes to our house every Monday morning). We usually use it in just that way -- as patties with waffles or other breakfast food.

When thinking about our food options last night, however, I decided to look for a way to make dinner from breakfast sausage. It was our salon date night, which usually involves supporting a local restaurant. Because we had been dining out nearly non-stop during our recent vacation in the Maritimes, though, I wanted to make a nice date-night meal at home. And because this is the canicula, I wanted stovetop cooking only -- no oven. This meant that my favorite dinner use of sausage was out of the question.

Rather than opening some cookbooks -- which would have been true to the original mission of this blog -- I did what we often do in such situations. I browsed the results of a search of "sausage" on the AllRecipes web site. I looked at a few options, and settled on Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream -- one of those recipe titles that essentially is the recipe.

I digressed from the recipe only slightly. I used thin spaghetti instead of bowties or penne, either of which would have held the sauce better. I also used fresh tomatoes instead of the canned equivalent. The preparation was simple and the results -- while not photogenic -- were quite delicious!