Pumpkin Pancakes

This recipe is from Natalia, a lovely Mexican pastry chef who made them for us with some of our pumpkins. Flavorful and fluffy.

¼ cup (52 g) butter, melted 

¼ cup (52 g) brown sugar 

4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup (226 g) pumpkin puree 

2 eggs

2 cups milk 490 g

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour 250 g

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1. Melt the butter and set aside.
2. In a large bowl thoroughly combine the sugar and spices. 
3. Stir in the butter and the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined. 
4. Add the eggs, whisk until smooth. 
5. Stir in the milk and vanilla.
6. Whisk in the baking powder and the baking soda.
7. With a wooden spoon add the flour and fold in just until the batter is smooth and no pockets of flour remain.
8. Ladle in ¼ cup of the batter into the pan at a time. Cook for roughly 2 minutes, or until you see bubbles in the middle of the pancakes and the edges are dry enough to get a spatula under the pancake. Flip and cook for 1 more minute on the other side, or until cooked through. Serve with maple syrup. Eat.

Pork or Lamb Dhansak

On our journey to food sovereignty we have lived on a sheep farm, and currently we are raising pigs. There were no pigs on the sheep farm, nor are there any sheep on our current farm. While living on the sheep farm I was developing recipes that use lamb and/or mutton, but having that source of carbon dry up and be replaced by pork, I felt like I had lost a lot of time and energy. But, lo and behold, pork can substitute lamb in some instances. Ergo, this recipe is very good with either lamb or pork.

2+1 Tbsps mild oil

1 kg/2lb 4oz diced lamb or pork (or pork steaks) shoulder or leg, or a mixture of both

2 onions (12oz/340gr) chopped

25g/1oz fresh root ginger, finely grated

4 garlic cloves, pressed

2 red chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped

1 green cardamom pod, finely ground

1½ Tbsp ground cumin

1½ Tbsp ground coriander

½ Tbsp ground turmeric

1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes or the equivalent in fresh chopped tomato

200ml/7fl oz beef stock

75g/2½oz red lentils

2 Tbsps honey or maple syrup

1 tsp salt 

½ tsp pepper

To serve

Savoury Rice

Steamed pumpkin pieces

• NOTE: this can prepared in the oven or in the slow cooker. Refer to points 8 and 9 in the instructions for the type of cooking you choose to use.

1. Heat two Tbsps of oil in a large frying pan. Sear the meat until it is browned on all sides. Put in the cooking pot.
2. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the onion and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
3. Meanwhile, combine the ginger, garlic and chilli.
4. Remove the cardamom seeds from their husks and grind them to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar. 
5. Add the garlic and ginger mixture to the pan along with ground cardamom and the remaining spices.
6. Add the tomatoes and beef stock to the pan and deglaze. When all the good browned bits are loose from the bottom, pour into the cooking pot.
7. Mix in the honey or maple syrup and the red lentils. 
8. SLOW COOKER METHOD: Turn the slow cooker on High and cook for 3 hours or until tender. 
9. BAKED METHOD: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Use a casserole and cover to cook for 1½ hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
10. Check the seasoning and serve with rice and steamed pumpkin.

Pumpkin Bread

We've had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year, and I've been working on ways of using it. As hard as it is to believe, there's only so much pumpkin pie one can eat! Actually, I felt a little Harry Potter-ish looking and trying pumpkin recipes. Well, not actually like Harry Potter, since he and the wizards didn't really do anything so useful as cook, being too busy saving the world, la-dee-dah! I suppose I'm more like the house elves. Hopefully you'll find this recipe magically delectable.

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) melted butter 

1½ cups (372g) mashed baked pumpkin
1 cup (7.1oz/200gr) sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups (8oz/225g) flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool a little. If you add it to the eggs too soon you'll get scrambled eggs!
3. In a medium sized bowl mix the pumpkin, sugar and the eggs together until you get a smooth consistency (it's ok if there are little chunks of pumpkin.
4. In a large bowl blend together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves.
5. Pour the butter into the wet ingredients, mix it in, and then dump the wet mixture into the flour, and lightly mix, only until evenly combined. Like cake, over mixing activates the gluten in the flour and makes for a tougher texture.
6. Grease a loaf pan and pour in the dough.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.

Traditions start somewhere - Tarte à la Citrouille a Papa

I just called home to ask my dad for his special pumpkin pie recipe. I always thought it was a recipe passed on from one generation to the next. My mom answered. Papa was in the bathroom and since she knew where it was written down, she'd get it for me. My sister's family was there with their little dog and so after I'd had the chance to say 'hi' and chat a bit with them, my mom came back and said she was tired so she just read the recipe out to me in English - whoa, wait a minute, why is it in English? We're a French family after all. Apparently it isn't an ancient family recipe, it's something my mom found on the back of a tin label and my dad took over making it. Like many straight men of his generation, there were only certain things a man could do in the kitchen and retain his manliness - barbeque being one of them - and pumpkin pie was ok  because he'd use pumpkins from their garden. The original recipe is apparently called "Magic Pumpkin Pie", but to me, it will always be La tarte à la citrouille de Papa:

1 pie crust recipe (TRY Pate Sablee and Pate Brisee)

2 cups (480g) pumpkin, mashed (to roast a pumpkin, 350F oven, cut in half, scoop out middle, oil cut edges, cut edges down bake for 50 minutes or until a knife easily pierces the skin. Cool, scoop out flesh, mash or puree in a blender)

1 1/3 cups (300g) sweetened condensed milk *(1)

1+1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425F.
2. Refrigerate the pie crust for at least 10 minutes. 
3. Blend all the ingredients together in a bowl. No need to worry about sequencing, just slop it all together and blend until completely smooth and incorporated.
4. Brush the entire pie shell with a thin layer of egg wash, bottom and edges. The protein from the egg will seal the crust for a better crumb when cooked.
5. Don't let the egg-brushed shell sit, immediately pour the pumpkin mix into the pie shell.
6. Initially, bake for 10-12 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F and bake another 30-35 minutes.
7. Cool, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

*(1) (I am testing out a recipe to make my own sweetened condensed milk)