Gone surfing!

We are in Hawaii for a much needed vacation. Be back... soon-ish.

Pumpkin pie

Happy Thanksgiving! Here is my pumpkin pie recipe.
 
This is my great-aunt Jessie's recipe. I have it on a photo-copied hand written recipe from my great-grandmother. It makes a damn good pie. My great-grandmother and her sisters grew up in rural North Carolina on farms and they married farmers. They made their pies from scratch, which meant real pumpkins, so therefore do I. The recipe is actually annotated for canned pumpkin, but the original was fresh pumpkin.

For this pie, I used a (gasp) store bought crust. I can count the times on one hand I have used a store bought crust, and one of the other times was for a last minute pie last month and they come in pairs, so for this I used the other languishing in my freezer. I even had a nice homemade pie dough in the same freezer, but I just needed to get the frozen dough out so I don't have to face the fact that I actually bought it.

I substitute coconut milk for my milk allergic husband, but the recipe calls for evaporated milk and that is what I used before I met my husband. It does make the pie more velvety. Feel free to use it our sub-coconut milk like I do.

For my pumpkins, I halve them and bake them with the seeds in (keeps the flesh from getting crusty). Then when they are done I scoop out the seeds and the strings, then I scoop the flesh into portions for pies, breads, soup, etc and freeze it. For this recipe I used the last container of frozen pumpkin from last season.

pumpkin, sugar, eggs, milk (coconut), salt, spices, four, pie crust

mix pumpkin, milk, sugar, salt, and spices

blend well

then add eggs and just mix in

add flour last and stir until the clumps are gone

pour into a pre-baked crust (with custard pie always pre-bake at least 20 min)

bake until barely jiggly in the center

let cool completely on a rack, in fact best if cooled at least six hours

serve with some luscious whipped cream or cream of coconut and some coffee

Thanks farm girls!

Salsa verde (for canning)

I already have a salsa verde recipe posted, but that is a fresh salsa only recipe. This year since we had such an abundance of tomatillos and the most prolific jalapeno plant I have ever seen, I decided to can some salsa. I had to modify the recipe for canning and I had been adjusting my recipe slightly over the season when I was making fresh salsa. If you want a milder salsa, you can always tone down the jalapenos.

Since I was canning (ie cooking) this version I threw in garlic which my husband can't eat raw and I omitted cilantro which loses flavor if you cook it for long periods. Please look up proportions for vinegar in order to properly can this, it is all relative to the weight of the tomatillos. The vinegar not only allows for safe canning, but it also help maintain the flavors of the salsa. Don't use vinegar in fresh salsa, it will taste crazy, but when you are canning the flavor mellows out and makes your food safe.

my prolific plant - 40 jalapenos still on the plant and I have picked a ton already

tomatillos, roasted peppers, onion, jalapenos, garlic, lime, oil, and salt

peel and just simmer your tomatillos - don't cook them, just bring them up to simmer and turn off

peel and seed your roasted peppers, chop your onions, garlic, and jalapenos

add chopped onions, garlic, jalapenos, salt, cumin, roasted peppers, and lime juice to tomatillos

blend until relatively smooth

now taste and see if you need more salt or lime before you add the vinegar

then add vinegar

bring up to a simmer

hot pack into sterilized jars

can for recipe time adjusted for altitude

store for use until next summers bounty

I love salsa!

Rosti

Potatoes, eggs, and onions; every western culture seems to have a recipe that is built upon these three things. Latkes, bubble and squeak (w/cabbage), a spanish omelette, and probably many more that I haven't had yet. This is the swedish/norwegian version and is favorite of the kids. I like the spanish omelette or the latke better, but hubby and the kids like this one.

This recipe is really just one big latke with a softer center. If I was making latkes I would do everything the same except add a little matzo flour and fry into separate cakes. For this and for latkes I find myself just using a box grater. I know it is fast in the food processor, but there is more clean up. It seems to take the same amount of effort either way.

potatoes, shallots (for onions), eggs, oil, garlic, salt pepper

peel and box grate your potatoes

rinse the potatoes to remove the starch

mince garlic and chop your onions

while the potatoes drain

add onions, garlic, salt and pepper to your eggs

then add dried potatoes shreds and mix well

smoosh it all into a well oiled hot pan

let cook covered 30 minutes or so

then flip onto a plate (takes practice I know)

and return to well oiled pan

serve with hot sauce and ketchup for the kids

Always ketchup for the kids!

CSA week 24

The end of the season. Sad but necessary. We are glad to have such great farmers that bring us such great food. This week we got apples and pears for fruit. For vegetables we got a butternut squash, spinach, kale, rutabagas, japanese turnips, beets, garlic, and carrots. As an added bonus baby girl helped Wyatt gather eggs and we took home seven. We look forward to next year when it starts up again.

 

What I made: Applesauce, pears, turnips, and carrots in bellies, roasted beets, sauteed spinach, sauteed cauliflower, smashed rutabagas, frittata with spinach and arugula from last week, and butternut squash for later.