Pumpkin Patch Muffins

 

  I can remember being 12 years old and not being super enthused about going to our Wednesday night church activities.  They were usually something that I didn't really enjoy and I would often sneak off from the group to go play the church piano or talk with friends.

One night the activity was at a woman's house that was one of those houses that when you drive by you always thought "Wow! I wonder what it looks like inside."  Needless to say it was a big, beautiful house.

It was a few days before Halloween and we made lots of goodies, including Pumpkin patch muffins.  I've been making these muffins ever since.

 I was chatting with my mother and was reminiscing about these muffins, and she suggested they get an update with a streusel topping and a cream cheese filling.  So, courtesy of my mother, and with the help of my boyfriend, here are my updated Pumpkin Patch Muffins. 

And Happy Halloween!

For the Muffins:

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1-1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted 

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin puree and milk in a stand mixer. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices, and add in batches to the wet mixture just until combined. Scoop batter into muffin tins about half way.  You are going to then dollop the cream cheese mixture into the batter, then top with remaining batter and sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

Mix 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Spoon mixture into a piece of parchment paper and roll into a log (and it is at this point you may need to beat your boyfriend out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon for dipping his fingers in the bowl).  Chill in the fridge until it firms up a little.  This makes it easier to slice into disks and plop into the muffin batter.

For the Streusel Topping:

1 stick of cold butter diced

5 tbs flour

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

Mashed ingredients with a fork until forms pea sized chunks and sprinkle over top of the muffins before baking.

Creamy Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Some of my favorite flavors of fall are pumpkin and apples.  I love to burn apple spice candles and eat toasted pumpkin seeds. I wanted to make a dish that combined my two favorite fall flavors, pumpkin and apples.

 This Pumpkin Rice Pudding is creamy, spicy, tart from the apples, sweet, and comforting.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

2/3 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

green apples, toasted walnuts and honey for garnish

In a small saucepan combine water and rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes or until all the water has absorbed.  In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, spice, vanilla and salt.  Stir in rice.  Pour mixture into 1-1/2 quart deep baking dish. Place dish in baking pan and pour boiling water into baking pan until water comes halfway up the sides of the baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes then stir.  Bake for another 30 minutes or until outside edge appears set.

Top with slices of crunchy green apple, toasted walnuts and a generous drizzle of honey.

Heart Attack Potatoes

My oh so dear friend Stephen thought my mashed sweet potatoes looked like a cow pie.  So here is my redemption potato.  I know these will be man approved!

Take your favorite kind of potato and slice across into thin slices, but be sure not to go all the way through.  Next, stuff the slices, alternating butter and your favorite kind of cheese.  I did my favorite, Tillamook Aged Sharp Cheddar.  Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Pull the pan out and drizzle potatoes with heavy cream, and a little more cheese (hehehe...).  Finish baking for about 10 more minutes.

Before

After

If you feel like having a heart attack, dollop with sour cream and chives. :)

You can find the printable recipe by visiting The Pioneer Woman blog which I have linked to the right. Enjoy!

My Simple Life

My life is simplistic, but I appreciate it that way.  My animals make me giggle every day. I tried to capture it.

My beautiful Arie, posing so sweetly with my lovely blue orchid, which was a birthday gift from my dear friend Carol.

 This one is my favorite :)

Mr. Monkey. Doesn't he look like he's smiling? :)

 It's fall. So I'm enjoying the crispy mornings, curling up with the kittens on the couch in our warm blanket, with some comfort food. Today I made mashed sweet potatoes. What is more comforting than a big bowl of mashed potatoes?

How I make them:

Peel and dice 2 sweet potatoes into about 1 inch chunks. Throw into a pot and cover with cold water. Boil on the stove until tender.

Drain and put them back into the hot pot.

Mash sweet potatoes with butter, about 1/2 a stick.

Add a few splashes of cream. Cinnamon, brown sugar, and orange zest. (as much or as little as you want)

Fluff with a fork.

Sprinkle with sea salt.

Eat, enjoy.

Chocolate Banana Cake

I often find myself with a plethora of left over bananas. Mostly because I like to eat them when they are still green, and when I see the first "freckle" or sign of aging, there they sit, until I eventually throw them into a banana bread batter or into muffins, or into the garbage can.  I'm always looking for new ways to use ripe bananas.

I stumbled across this recipe and it looked delish so I had to give it a go.  Plus it uses buttermilk, which I also had left-over from a few batches of Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk Ice Cream (recipe below) that I made earlier in the week.  I love making things that use up the last of a few random ingredients I have around the kitchen.

This cake is so good.  The rich chocolate, the sweet banana, the hint of warmth and spice from the cinnamon. Mmmm....

Banana Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Yields two 8-inch cake layers (or 9 x 13" cake)

Banana Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Grease two 8-inch baking pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the bananas and vanilla extract.

Alternatively add and beat in the flour mixture and buttermilk in 5 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Pour batter evenly between prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Glaze
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate
8 tablespoons butter

In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Glaze will be thick. Remove from heat and frost cake before glaze hardens.

Cherry-Lemon Biscotti with Almonds

I was looking around my kitchen today trying to get inspired to make something.  Having a particularly BLAH day, I really just wanted to relax and make something delish.  I looked in my freezer...not much in there besides half an open bag of sliced almonds.  In the pantry...a bag of dried cherries that had been pushed to the back of the shelf, nearly forgotten.  In my fruit bowl...not much left besides a bruised green apple and two lemons.

What in the world can I make using these ingredients....

Biscotti :)

The word biscotti originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus meaning twice baked.  Which is why biscotti is baked twice! Interesting.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 a bag of sliced almonds (about 3/4 of a cup)

1 bag of dried cherries (about 3/4 of a cup)

zest from 2 lemons

Mix the butter, sugar, salt, eggs, lemon zest.

 With the mixer on low add the flour and baking powder. Once combined, stir in the almonds and cherries.

 Form dough into a log. Bake until golden brown about 30-35 mins at 350 degrees.  Once log has cooled slightly, slice into cookies and bake again for about 15 minutes.

Dunk into some hot cocoa, tea or coffee, and enjoy!

Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

So for my birthday, I bought myself a new cookbook. An ICE CREAM cookbook.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer

I never realized how detailed making ice cream is until reading through this book.  There is a science behind making ice cream.  This is what Jeni has to say about making ice cream.

          *Ice cream is a frozen emulsion of water, butterfat (the concentrated fat in milk), proteins (whey and casein), sugars (sucrose, glucose, lactose, and others), starch (thickener), air, and flavors. Other additions (fruit, chocolate, alcohol, etc.) can disrupt the balance.  In addition, if the proportions of water, protein, and fat are out of balance, it can make the ice cream feel too cold or too warm on the palate.  Understanding the interplay of these ingredients on a molecular level is what ice cream making is all about.* --Jeni Britton Bauer

She goes on to explain in further detail the balance of water, butterfat, protein, sugar, starch and air in great detail.  This woman is an ice cream goddess.

Her book is fabulous, with amazing recipes for anyone at home to make their own creamy delights.  I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to make their own ice cream. There is so much to learn!

As my last attempt to cling to Summer, I've decided to make several ice cream recipes from her book, which I will be posting here. She has divided her ice cream recipes into four sections; Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.  And the recipes are so appropriate.

My first recipe from the book is from SPRING--roasted strawberry & buttermilk ice cream.  This ice cream is creamy, tart, tangy, and sweet.  So here it is, without further adieu, for your viewing and my eating pleasure!

Roasted Strawberries

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbs fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tbs cornstarch

2 ounces (4 tbs) cream cheese, softened

1/8 tsp fine sea salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tbs light corn syrup

1/4 cup buttermilk

PREP

For the Strawberries:

     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the strawberries with the sugar in an 8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well.  Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly.  Puree the berries in a food processor with the lemon juice.  Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use.

For the Ice Cream Base:

     Mix about 2 tbs of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.  Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.

CHILL

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the reserved 1/2 cup strawberry puree and the buttermilk and blend well.  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.  (I put mine into an ice bath and then into the fridge.)

FREEZE

Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.  (You will need an ice cream maker for this part.  I use a Cuisine Art 1-1/2 quart.)  Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.  Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
Creamy perfection.

 Since I had extra strawberry puree I drizzled it onto the ice cream. Sooo delish.