“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
Louisa May Alcott
It’s the time of the year again that makes me walk towards the oven in a hypnotic trance and want to bake all day long. Its warming and comforting to have the oven on, to fill the house with warm flavours that give you joy. The nip in the air, the apples flooding the market, the big yellow {& green} pumpkins all beckon you. Even though the pumpkin sits there all the year round, it’s once the weather begins to get nippy that I like to roast it.
The ‘make my own pumpkin puree’ madness hit me last year when I made my first pumpkin pie, the Praline Pumpkin Pie from a fabulous cookbook that I reviewed, Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS. It was the best pie ever, and one that I need to revisit soon this year. My enchantment with this rather under-rated vegetable also showed up in Pumpkin Panna Cotta, and in a less guilty pumpkin pie, the Simple Pumpkin Pie.
I’ve had Pumpkin Pots de Creme on my mind ever since I made Chocolate Cherry Pots de Creme in September, and I thought it would be a wonderful way to use pumpkin puree. So I got this HUGE slice of pumpkin and roasted it, with some unpeeled garlic thrown in to the oven alongside, because I wasn’t sure I’d use all the puree the sweet way. Savoury pumpkin soup was tugging the strings of my heart too, after a rather wonderful one my twin sistah Jamie and I shared at the FBC in London. What I made wasn’t exactly that, but it was darned good.
The amount of puree I finally got ensured I went every which way! Here’s the first thing I made from the puree, dessert which was loved, and screamed everything warm, filling and flavourful. One ramekin later, the lad said ‘Err, can I have another pot please? No? Maybe tomorrow? Well it was yummy!‘ He tried pushing his luck, but it didn’t work!! The daughter was a bit iffy about it initially because she inadvertently had a go at the yellow bowlful of pumpkin puree and almost fainted when I enlightened her. A spoonful of dessert later, she forgot all about the pumpkin puree & dug right in!
I made these pots specially for Barbara @ Winos and Foodies for her LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow event, an annual event held each year. This is my fourth year at the event. The food blogger community is a tight knit, supportive community. Most of us have been inspired by Barbara and her fight with cancer. She is an amazing lady, and a source of inspiration to many, including me. Her story is moving, frightening at times, but a lesson in life ; a must read.
October 2nd has been announced as LiveSTRONG Day 2010, and this year the event has a new theme. Throughout 2010 Barbara has been posting a heart each Saturday. She thought it might be fun to incorporate the hearts in this years LiveSTRONG Day event. I ♥ the idea. She called for everyone to create their own heart photo and post it to their blog on October 2nd, 2010. If you want to join in, you still have time since she’s accepting entries through the week.
Here’s a picture of the roasted pumpkin soup; ’twas certainly a comforting and delicious bowlful. Will post that recipe later. I did intend to put that up today too, but the shift to WP means that each post takes a little longer than before, as I learn the ropes. I did oven bake some heart shaped, turmeric yellowed croûtons out of brown bread too! I still have some pumpkin puree in the freezer, and am debating what not to make with it … there are far too many options I’ve found!
Pumpkin Pots de Creme with Candied Walnuts
Inspired by Canelle et Vanille
250ml low fat milk milk
200ml low fat cream {Amul 25% fat}
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1 cup vanilla sugar {as the pumpkin wasn’t sweet}
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup candied walnuts {recipe follows}
Method:
Bring the milk, cream, vanilla bean and half of the sugar to a simmering boil. Put off heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes for the vanilla bean flavours to mature.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160C.
Add the pumpkin puree, pie spice and cinnamon to the vanilla milk / cream mixture, and whisk with a balloon whisk.
In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, yolk and the other half of the sugar. Add the warm pumpkin mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.
Pour the custard into the ramekins and place them on a sheet pan and bring this to a preheated 160C oven.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and pour hot water in the sheet pan. Bake the pots de creme in the water bath until the center is set; mine took about 45 minutes. Refrigerate once cool. Chill completely, preferably overnight.
Serve with unsweetened whipped low fat cream and a sprinkling of candied walnuts.
Candied Walnuts
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp butter
Method:
Place all ingredients in a small heavy bottom pan, and simmer until the sugar begins to melt.
Swirl around so the melted sugar coats the nuts. Simmer until the sugar begins to caramelize and turns a golden brown, Don’t let it get dark, else the nuts will taste bitter.
Immediately turn the nuts onto a lightly greased platter and allow to cool.
Break up into pieces, and store in an airtight container in a cool place. I keep mine in the fridge for 5-7 days.
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“For me it was always a simple passion” Lance Armstrong
This is a sunshine post for Barbara of Winos & Foodies. She’s back with her ‘ Taste of Yellow‘ event, and my yolks were screaming yellow at me. In Barbara’s words, “LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow is my way of supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation by raising awareness of cancer issues world wide. It is a way for all food and wine bloggers to share their stories. The happy and the sad, the struggles and the triumphs. If you are lucky and have not be touched by cancer you are still welcome to participate.”The Yellow Wristband Project
For champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, yellow is more than just the color of the Tour de France’s leader jersey. It’s a symbol for hope, courage, and perseverance. Today, more than 47.5 million LIVESTRONG wristbands have been sold since they were first made available in May of 2004 to raise funds for the programs of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).
I’ve been meaning to make creme brulee or at least creme custard for ages, but my dislike for eggy smells has kept me at bay. No longerthough. Now that I finally had this lovely big bag of vanilla beans that Ria managed to source for me from South India, I had to make the custard right away.
The elegant dessert creme brulee has a thick pudding base of cream and eggs topped by a delicate layer of caramelized sugar. In French, “creme brulee” means “burnt cream,” which refers to the process by which sprinkled sugar gets heated to a temperature that caramelizes it to a delicious brown. The traditional method of cooking this type of custard has evolved many flavored variations.
My custard is a fusion of flavours, Thai I think. I had ginger in the fridge, and lots of lemon grass growing in my little patch outside, so I googled for ideas. There I was – A Ginger Lemon-Grass Creme Brulee I found here. None of the flavours in the custard were overpowering or overwhelming. Just simple subtle flavours, combining elegantly to flavour the custard. Simple enough to be enjoyed by the kids too. I did have trouble with the brulee though since I don’t have a blow torch. It took forever for the sugar to caramelise under the hot grill & I was a bit wary of my custard melting. 4 ramekins later, I cheated a little and took a shortcut for the remaining few. I caramelised some sugar to very brown in a pan & quickly poured it on top of the chilled custard. Tilted the ramekins immediately to spread it, kept it thin… Unauthentic, but it got me to some sort of brulee stage alright! Later even tried to spin some sugar with not very good results!
Ginger Lemon-Grass Creme Brulee Adapted from recipe byEric LanlardfromGlamour Puds Ingredients: 400ml single cream 125ml whole milk 6 large eggs 100g of caster sugar 1 vanilla pod 2 stem of lemongrass, chopped 1 stem of fresh ginger Demerara sugar for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat the oven to 140C. Put the ginger and lemon grass in a pestle and mortar and bruise well to release flavours. In a saucepan add the cream, milk, split vanilla pod and the lemongrass and ginger paste then heat slowly until hot but not boiling. Leave to infuse for an hour. (or overnight which is what I did). Reheat to almost boiling just before use. In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar until white and fluffy. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg mixture mixing continuously. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Pour the cream into lightly greased ramekins bake it for approximately 30 minutes until the mixture is wobbly.
Leave to cool down. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours, or even overnight. Sprinkle about 2 tsps demerara sugar on the top of each and caramelize with a blow torch for 1-2 minutes before serving. Or set the ramekins on a baking sheet and slide it under the broiler. Broil, watching constantly and rotating the pan for even caramelization, until the toppings are bubbling and a rich brown, about 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the intensity of the heat.
