Cider-Pumpkin Bagels

Cider-Pumpkin Bagels

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/4 c apple cider

1/4 c butter (melted)

1/4 c pumpkin (canned)

2 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

2+ c white flour

oven 400

Heat apple cider in the microwave.  Use a thermometer to make sure temperature is between 100 and 110 degrees before adding yeast.  Combine cider, yeast, and sugar in a stand mixer.  Melt the butter and add it to the mixer along with the egg yolk, pumpkin, and salt.  Combine, then add whole wheat flour.  Mix well, add white flour until dough is no longer sticky.  

(I think I initially used about 2 1/2 c white flour, but after rising the dough was still extremely sticky, and I ended up adding another 1/2 - 1 c.  

Let dough rise for 1 hr, then divide into 8 pieces and shape into bagels.  Drop each bagel into boiling water until it floats, then bake for 20-25 minutes.  I checked these ones after 12, un-stuck them from the pan, then baked them for 8 more minutes. 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure I can identify the taste of either pumpkin or cider in these bagels...but I don't actually have the best sense of taste, so I'll have to wait for Coby to come home and taste them to find out exactly how flavor-full they are.  They do taste good though!  Breakfast this week is going to be great!

Pumpkin Soup

1 medium pumpkin

3 carrots

1/4 sweet onion

4 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger root

vegetable stock

heavy cream

1/2 stick butter

sea salt

sage powder

Remove seeds and gunk from inside of pumpkin.  Slice off the skin.  Cut flesh into chunks.  Chop the carrots into chunks.  Steam the carrot and pumpkin chunks with the butter and approximately 1/2 c of veggie stock.  When veggies are soft, add 1 1/2 or 2 cups of heavy cream, a bit more veggie stock, and sage.  Let simmer.  Chop the garlic and ginger and brown in some olive oil, then add to soup pot.  Do the same with the onion.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup til smooth.  

Chop a parsnip and brown in olive oil to put on top of the soup if desired. 

Cocoa-Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

The Cookies

1/4 c butter

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c pumpkin

1 egg

1 c sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 1/3 c white flour

makes approx. 24 cookies

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes

The Filling

1/2 c cream cheese

2 tsp cinnamon

6-7 spoonfuls of confectioners sugar

1 tbsp apple cider

Inspired by this recipe.  I was looking for pumpkin cake recipes.  While browsing, the red velvet oreos caught my eye.  They sounded intriguing.  I've never made red velvet anything.  And I don't have any red food coloring.  But I turned that idea into these cookies.  So much for making pumpkin cake...maybe next time.

Pumpkin Peach Muffins

(Original recipe calls for 1 1/2 c flour.  I put in 1/2 c wheat flour and 1 1/4 white flour before adding the peach.  I let it sit for a bit to draw some of the moisture out of the peach, then added more flour until the batter returned to the consistency it had before I added the peach.)

Pumpkin Burger

I made these a few days ago.  They are super delicious.  I'm eating one for dinner tonight...with pumpkin mac & cheese.  Pumpkin is my favorite part of fall!

Pumpkin-Chicken Stew

Pumpkin-Chicken Stew

2 b/s chicken breasts

1 c pumpkin

2 cans diced tomatoes

(I used 1 garlic fire roasted, and 1 garlic-basil-oregano)

1 can white corn

garlic powder

ginger powder

turmeric powder

Put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, put everything else on top.  Cook on low for 5+ hours.  Test chicken with a thermometer to ensure it has been cooked fully.  Shred chicken or just break into large pieces like I did. 

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

Awhile ago, I came across a recipe on Some The Wiser for Basil Brownies that sounded delicious.  I was going to make them, but then I ended up making Cinnamon Brownies instead. Today, I finally got around to making some Basil Brownies!  In the process, I compared 3 different brownie recipes : 2 of mine, and 1 from Some the Wiser.  Then, I created my own. (The new creation is in red pen).  Pumpkin was a necessary ingredient, because I just opened the first can of pumpkin this season...it's time to start putting pumpkin in everything!

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

3.5 oz 85% cocoa chocolate bar

13 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/3 c pumpkin

pinch of sea salt

scant tsp vanilla

2 eggs

scant 1 1/2 c white sugar

1 1/4 c white flour

3/4 c fresh basil 

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Break the chocolate bar into pieces, put into a microwave-safe bowl with the butter, and microwave 2-3 minutes until mostly melted.  Stir until melted completely.  Add the cocoa powder, pumpkin, salt, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the eggs.  Mix in the sugar, then the flour.  Put the basil in a food processor and chop finely, then add to the batter.   Add the chocolate chips.  Grease a 9x9 pan, then pour in the batter.  Bake for 30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.  

The Pumpkin Saga continues...

The Kale

(steamed with garlic and ginger)

The Pork Chop

(cooked in pumpkin cider, sage, and ginger)

The Linguine

(tossed with a pumpkin/apple cider/sage/ginger cream sauce)

Pumpkin Ravioli

It's been awhile since I made pasta from scratch!  But I've been wanting to make pumpkin ravioli and I had some time this evening (for once I wasn't too hungry to wait for dinner to cook), so I made them.

Pasta Dough

1 egg

1/4 c wheat flour

3/4 c + white flour

2 tbsp olive oil

garlic powder

ginger powder

salt

Filling

big scoop of pumpkin

big handful of shredded colby jack cheese

Pumpkin Ravioli, 

with a Pumpkin Cream Sauce*, 

on a bed of Kale, 

with some Pumpkin Chicken** on the side.

And don't forget the Pumpkin Porter!

*Pumpkin, Heavy Cream, Sage, Ginger

**Boiled in pumpkin and Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat Beer

Yes, I love pumpkin!

Meaty Pumpkin Lasagna

1 cup pumpkin

c. 15 oz tomato sauce

1 cup water

16.5 oz alfredo sauce

2 eggs

oregano

garlic powder

large handful of shredded cheese

Cook 1 lb ground beef in the sauce & pumpkin.

Layer:

1) cover the bottom of a baking dish with the white sauce mixture

2) lay down 3 ready-bake lasagna noodles

3) cover with the meat mixture

4) pour a layer of white sauce

5) lay down 3 more noodles

6) cover with meat mixture

7) lay down 3 more noodles

8) pour the remaining white sauce mixture on top

9) sprinkle with cheese

Cover with a double layer of foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour.

Rye-Pumpkin Truffles

And by Rye, I mean Rye Whiskey.  

So last Friday night I was killing time and had the bright idea to put some Smooth Ambler Old Scout Rye Whiskey in some truffles.  I hadn't made any truffles in awhile, and I had been craving them.  I figured all the alcohol would cook out and I would be left with some delicious whiskey-tasting truffles.  

I combined 1/2 cup of the whiskey with a giant spoonful of pumpkin and 3.5 oz of 60% dark chocolate.  I cooked it for awhile in a small saucepan, poured the mixture into a glass measuring cup, and stuck it in the 

fridge to cool.  I didn't get around to taking it out of the fridge until this evening.  

The ganache was super soft, but I formed it into rough balls, laid them on wax paper, and stuck them in the freezer to harden.  I got a little taste from the ganache clinging to the sides of the cup, and it was super delicious.  

While the ganache was hardening in the freezer, I melted 3.5 oz of 72% dark chocolate.  Then I dropped the ganache balls in one at a time, turned them til coated, and dropped them on a new sheet of wax paper.  I had to make the coated truffles in batches because the ganache got soft pretty quick and it would melt into the cup of coating chocolate if it wasn't hard enough.  I ended up needing to melt a second 3.5 oz of the 72% to coat all of the truffles.  (although that left me with quite a bit of leftover coating at the end)

Once the first batch of truffles was hardened, I had a taste-test.  At first, it was super delicious.  Chocolate and whiskey, yum.  But then...I was slammed with a big, overpowering alcohol-ness.  Apparently, the alcohol DID NOT cook out of the ganache.  Apparently, it was condensed instead.  Wow that was strong.  These truffles are not for children.  Unfortunately, the taste of alcohol is so potent, the truffles aren't actually as epic-ly delicious as I had hoped.  They don't taste like whiskey, they taste like alcohol.  I guess I should have cooked the ganache longer...

Chocolate Guinness Cake with Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Icing

For the last...too many years to count, I was able to honestly say that I did not have a sweet tooth.  I'm starting to think that I can no longer say that.  I used to be addicted to salty snacks, like Triscuits. (I think I was eating 2+ boxes a week for awhile) But then one day I discovered that the excessive salt in my diet was causing painful leg cramps when I ran.  So I weaned myself off of salty snacks.  Actually, I think I quit cold-turkey.  Ever since, I have used less and less salt in my food.  Now, I think the only time I use salt while cooking is when I salt the pasta water.

For awhile after quitting the salty snacks, I just didn't snack.  But recently, I have started craving snacks again.  And this time I'm craving cookies and cake.  It's such a weird feeling, after all the years where I could look at a cookie or piece of cake and be genuinely disinterested.  I still don't have a huge love of sugar, and won't eat things that are too sweet.  But I love to have some cookies or a piece of not overly-sweetened cake in the evening.  The Chocolate Cake I made a few weeks ago was probably one of my all-time favorite desserts that I have made.  Last night, as I ate my last 2 delectable Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies, I realized that I would have to make another batch of cookies today.  But then today came, and I decided I wanted to make another chocolate cake.  The fact that there is no milk in my fridge wasn't a problem...I wanted to use Guinness this time. I also had some little 50mL bottles of Bailey's that someone gave me, so I threw one of those in too.

The Cake

2 1/8 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 c Guinness

50mL Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur 

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

grease and flour 2 8.5 inch round cake pans

bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so

let cool in pans for a little while, then transfer to wire racks

when the cakes are cool, spread icing on top of one cake, place the other cake on top, and then cover with remaining icing

The Icing

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 c pumpkin

1+ c confectioner's sugar

I used a fork to mix the icing.  It came out with cream cheese lumps, which are rather unsightly, but don't bother me.  If you want a smoother icing I suggest you use an electric mixer.

Photo Evidence