Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Turning the Great Pumpkin into Puree!
Turning Pumpkins to Puree isnt as hard as I thought it may be. I have been cooking down my pumpkins and making puree for all my baking needs! With Thanksgiving on the horizon I have been getting everything ready. So far I have used Pumpkin Puree for many things!
First you need a good size pumpkin.
Cut up the Pumpkin into chunks.
Take all the seeds and guts out! ( I set my seeds aside and wash later for toasting)
Crank that old stove to 350 degrees.
Put the pieces in a baking dish with about 1 inch of water covering the bottom of the dish.
Check the Pumpkin after 30 minutes of cooking, if its not fork tender, cook in 10 minutes more until desired tenderness.
When tender scrape the flesh from the outer skin. Add the tender pimpkin to your food processor and puree in small batches.
Measure 2 cups of puree for each bag to be frozen. (I seal mine in my food sealer.)
Toss in freezer and it should last about 6 months.
When Cream Cheese and Pumpkins Collide.....
I love cooking with Pumpkin! I also love cream cheese! These two ingrediants combined make a wonderful explosion of sweet flavor in your mouth! Here is a recipe you will love combining these two great flavors.
Creamy Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/3 c. Sugar divided (I used Raw Sugar, but you can use regular sugar)
1 1/4 c. All purpose flour
2 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
3 Eggs divided
3/4 c. Oil
1 c. Pumpkin ( I use fresh, Add the spices you like to your fresh pumpkin, you can use can!)
8-oz. pkg. Cream Cheese softened
Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, 2 eggs, oil & pumpkin and set aside.
In a seperat bowl, blend together cream chesse, remaining sugar and egg.
Pour pumpkin mixture into greased muffin cups (or use liners) filling 2/3 full.
Place a heaping teaspoon of cream chesse filling in the center of each muffin.
Sprinkle each with one teaspoon of topping! Topping Recipe: 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 t. cinnamon 3 t. all-purpose flour 2 t. butter Combine all ingrediants until crumbly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min. Makes 1 and a half dozen.
I made 12 and a small loaf
Happy Eating!
Winter Garden
Today, I was playing catch up on some of my blog posts I have been meaning to write. I wrote about my Winter Garden on my Recycling Gardener blog when I meant to post it here! Obviously I wasnt paying attention! I couldnt figure out how to import it over here! So, here is the link to my other Blog all about my winter garden! http://recyclinggardenmom.blogspot.com/2009/11/winter-gardening.html
I hope you will take the time to see what me and little miss Kyla have planted this winter!
I would love to hear about your winter gardens and what has worked for you and what has not.
Here is a couple of pictures in case you cant get to the other blog!
Our small makeshift winter garden!
Swiss Chard!
Our wheel burrow salad bar!
Peas!
We also still have Peppers growing! Although I am sure they wont be much longer.
Happy Gardening!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Olives...Curing to Canning & In to my Mouth!
Olives...
How do I love thee!
Olives are one of the things I love to eat! Anytime, Anywhere & Anyplace!
To me, Olives are the best snack food ever!
I recently ran across a Farm thats local and sells raw olives! Chaffin Orchards, They are located in Oroville, California!http://www.chaffinfamilyorchards.com/ Check them out! They have alot of other things to offer! You can also follow them on Twitter @ChaffinOrchards.
I decided since I have such a love for Olives, I was going to take on the task of curing my own! I checked out many differnt sites before purchase! First decicding on only 10 pounds and then in the end I ordered 17 pounds! That day I met Chris at a nerby location to pick up my order! I also ordered Avacodos & Organic Brown Rice. The Avacodos were delicious and the rice was awesome! Back to the Olives...
The minute I got home I started the process of cleaning them. Cutting a slit in each individual olive, I admit it took awhile to to do that! They also say you can hit them with a small mallet, I chose to do the slits! My next step was to get my salt water ready in my large containers that would be curing my olives for the next 41 days! Some people salt cure them for a shorter time, I like my olives salty!
I used 1 cup of Kosher Salt for every Quart of water! The above picture is how they looked at day 1.
Gourgeous dont ya think? You also need to place a plate or something heavy to hold the olives under the water for even curing! You dont want any of those bad boys to be left out! I didnt have a plate small enough to fit inside my glass crocks! I just filled up 2 gallon size zip lock bags, full of water to keep them submerged! You also want to keep these in a cool dark place while they are taking thier salt bath.Every 4 days or so, I changed out the salt water! I started taste testing about the 25th day and there after till I got the taste I desired! Day 41 I decided it was time! Excitiment came over me and I couldnt wait to add the flavors I desired for my Olives!
On to the marinade that would join my wonderful little green friends! I added Crushed Red Pepper, Crushed Bay Leaves, Black Peppercorns, Dill Seed, Coriander, Ginger and Cloves. I also used Vinager and water!
Not only do I like my Olives salty, I like em with a little kick too!
I started to fill my sterile Jars with Olives, smelling them was heavenly!
Then I added the mixture of vinegar and spices that I made! At the top of each filled jar I added 2 Tbls of Olive Oil. Sealed them jars up and got them ready for the pressure cooker. 17 pounds of olives fills, 12 Quart size canning jars. I put my jars in a pressure canner until they sealed. About 35-40 minutes.
Now that my Olives are finished! They will go on a cool dark shelf for a couple of months to soak in all the wonderful flavor! I did do a small jar for the fridge. I waited a week and tasted them! They were pretty darn good with a small kick! I can just imagine how yummy they will be in a couple of months! I have to say, im pretty proud of myself! I wasnt sure I could do it! I was afraid I would screw them up!
I cant wait to sit and eat a jar with friends on New Years Eve! Beer and Olives, Delicious!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Fantastic Giveaway & Awesome Blogger!
How many blogs do you read on a daily basis! I read my fair share! I also Twitter and get tons of information and meet great people! A Twitter Pal and fellow Awesome Bloogger is having a giveaway of dried fruits! Run dont walk to his blog!Your Small Kitchen Garden awaits your arrival!
Great things await you at this Fantastic Blog!
Heres a brief Discription of what He is giving away!
There are two varieties of treats: The Fruit Snack at 84 calories per package and the Tropical Snack at 80 calories per package. The Fruit Snack variety contains freeze-dried apples, strawberries, cherries, and blueberries. The Tropical Snack variety contains freeze-dried apples, pineapples, mangos, and bananas.
He is a fun person to know and Knowledgable about Food & Gardening! He is great fun on Twitter and I highly encourage you to Follow him, He is @cittyslipper on Twitter!
He also has a Facebook Fan Page, which of course I am a great fan off!
I hope you will take the time to check out his blog and enter his giveaway!
He has other blogs as well and the links are posted at his Your Small Kitchen Garden Blog!
Good luck!
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