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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fall is upon us!!


These are new things that I came to me one morning at 3am. I couldn’t sleep and I was thinking about food. Go figure! If you know me, you know that food is never far from my mind! I love talking about it, thinking about it, making it, and of course, my favorite part, eating it!
So here are a couple of recipes and some pictures of how I utilized the recipes in my kitchen. I used the mini tartlet tray and the pastry bag to put the filling in the tarts. It work good for the apple, but the pumpkin was a little runny. I think something that had a lip or maybe a liquid measuring cup would have worked better. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Apple Pie Filling for…later
6 lbs apples (tart work best)
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 drops yellow food coloring
I used about 20 medium size apples, grade B. Meaning they had bumps, bruises, and blemishes. Since I peeled and sliced them it didn’t really matter! They still tasted delicious!
1.      Sterilize 6 quart jars, if canning, by washing them with soap and water and putting them in the oven at 215 degrees for a minimum of 15 minutes. They can stay in the oven until you are ready to take them out.
  1. Peel, core and slice apples. (Leave slices about 1/2 inch thick).
  2. Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and salt in large pot.
  3. Add water and cook on high heat, stirring frequently at first and then constantly until it boils. Let it boil for about a minute, at this point it should be nice and thick. Watch it very carefully, when it starts to thicken it goes fast!!
  4. Stir in lemon juice and food coloring
  5. Pack apples in hot jars and fill jars with sauce just to the bottom rung of the mouth of the jar. I use a wooden spoon to push the apples down. DO NOT FILL THEM ANY HIGHER! THEY WILL EXPLODE!
  6. Process jars in hot water bath for 20 minutes.
  7. If you are freezing them, mix apples and sauce and put in freezer ziplock bags or freezer containers.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 ¾ cups pumpkin (15 oz. can)
1 ½ cups evaporated milk (12 oz. can)

Combine dry ingredients, in a separate bowl slightly beat the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin and the dry ingredients, mix well. Gradually add the evaporated milk, pour into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes!

I made my own pumpkin puree!! It was SUPER easy and came out tasting delicious. Even the most novice of cooks can do this, it is a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen too!

Roasting a Pumpkin
It sounds daunting and scary but what better time of the year to tackle such a culinary task!! Trust me, it’s easy!
Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and “stringy” stuff. Put cut side down on your Flexipat or deep Flexipat, add ¼ cup water and put in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour, or till flesh is “fork tender”. Take out of oven, let cool to touch and then scoop out the flesh. Place flesh in a blender or food processor, process till a smooth consistency is reached. Use in muffins, breads, pies or mousse!

REMEMBER: Roast the pumpkin seeds for a healthy, fibrous snack!
450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown

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