Jicama salad

juice of 1 lime
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
1-2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
good pinch salt
good pinch cayenne pepper

1 jicama, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped coriander

Put the first six ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Prepare the vegetables and coriander and then add them to the dressing and toss.  Best chilled for an hour or so.


Jicama has a wonderful crunchy, juicy, slightly sweet texture.  Goes well with the lime and maple.  It's not really like anything else but reminds me a little of kohlrabi, in that it is a white inside part that is crispy-crunchy and fresh and subtly tasty.  Don't really know what else to do with it, other than make salads or eat it in thin, raw slices.

Caraway and orange bread

I've been wanting to do something with caraway seeds for a while - felt like they were missing from the spice cupboard.  Found some in the Indian store at the weekend, and was inspired by our epic vegan thanksgiving feast to try making bread with them.  This one sounded fancy, so I went with it.  On reflection, the method is weird, another time I will use a method that's worked better for me in the past.

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp brown sugar

Zest of 1 orange, grated

1 tbsp marg

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups bread flour

Heat water, sugar, orange, marg and caraway seeds in a small saucepan for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Once the warm mixture is lukewarm, mix it with the yeast and 1 cup of flour.  Knead (it will be sticky), and let rise for 1 hour.

Add the rest of the flour (1 more cup) slowly and knead well.  Shape, lay on baking sheet lined with paper, and prove for 1 hour.

 

Bake at 180C / 350F for 50-60 min (until sounds hollow when bottom is knocked).  Let cool before eating (warm is OK).

 

 

The caraway-orange-bread combination was interesting and worked - nice mix of sharp spice and sweet orange.  But the method was odd - the second cup of flour was hard to get in, and the loaf ended up quite small, seemed dry, and didn't rise very well.  Looking at the pics on the original site perhaps a dense crumb was the intention, and it certainly wasn't inedibly dense or un-risen, but think I might prefer to make it lighter next time - perhaps using the method from the olive bread, or trying rolls?

Curried beet greens with chickpeas and raisins

Cooked up some bright pink curry with beets, and decided to do something with their leaves too:

Leaves from 4 beetroot, washed and chopped (stems separate)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
coconut oil
1 tsp brown mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp nigella
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
handful chickpeas
2 tbsp raisins
~1/2 tsp finely grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish

Heat coconut oil, add spices and cook til starting to brown.  Add coconut and garlic and cook til the garlic starts to colour.  Add chopped beet stems and cook for a few minutes.  Add chickpeas, raisins and beet leaves and cook until everything is done and the leaves are wilted.  Add nutmeg and seasoning to taste.  Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and eat.

Seb cake (walnut and coffee cake with salted caramel and banana)

I woke up before S, and decided to make him a cake because I like him.  It should contain many of his favourite things: coffee, walnuts, salt, banana...

Cake mix based on this recipe.

For the cake:
1 cup fake milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1¼ cups plain flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup veg oil
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 tsp hot water
¼ tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup walnut pieces

For the caramel:
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup water
2-3 drops lemon juice
¼ cup coconut milk
1 tbsp marg
1 tsp sea salt

For finishing:
1 banana
~2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350F. Line the bases of two cake tins.

Mix the fake milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.

Beat together the fake milk mixture, oil, sugar, coffee and vanilla in a large bowl. Separately sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Add wet to dry and mix until no large lumps remain, adding the walnut pieces in the final few strokes.

Divide between the cake tins and bake for ~30 min. Allow to cool.

Caramel consistency - thick, sticky, not hard

While the cake is baking, make the caramel.  Clean a saucepan thoroughly and spread evenly across the base of the pan.  Add the water and make sure all the sugar is wet.  Bring the sugar-water mix to a steady boil (be very careful, it will be super hot).  Add a couple of drops of lemon juice to inhibit crystallisation.  Boil until it starts to change colour (to brown).  Do not stir - swirl occasionally to make sure it is cooking evenly, but stirring may set off crystallisation and that would not be good.  When it reaches a rich brown colour and starts to smoke a little, take it off the heat.  Prepare yourself for potential spitting hot sugar danger, then add in the coconut milk, marg and salt.  Stir gently, while avoiding getting hot sugar on you.  Allow to cool.

When cake and caramel are both well-cooled, sandwich the cake with half the caramel (and some sliced banana, if you like), and drizzle the rest of the caramel on top.  Decorate the top with some chopped walnuts.

It's half gone already, so I think it was a success!  He said it might have been his favourite ever cake.  The cake mix was very runny and I thought I might have forgotten something / it might come out all wrong, but it baked up fine.  This was my first real caramel (previous problems with over-stirring, not boiling for long enough...), and it was good.  This tutorial was useful.  I'm thinking about variations on it now - thickness, intensity of colour etc...  The banana and nuts worked really well in combination, and offset the sugary caramel.  Those three together drowned out the coffee a bit though - could perhaps be tweaked somewhat to let the coffee through more.

Thanksgiving - more pumpkin

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Feeling a little detached - everyone is making big food plans and / or heading home across the country - S+I are privately just like: ummmm so you just want to eat lots of turkey?  not really our bag...  Although some friends from the South have invited us to help them drink beer and deep-fry turkey in their front yard.  I assumed this meant deep-frying bits of turkey in the style of KFC, but then today I saw this video and a wave of realisation swept over me - this is serious!  So yeah, right now our plan is to go to the best vegan restaurant in town and eat their 4-course thanksgiving menu, then head over to M+S's place to observe the turkey action...

One thing I love about Thanksgiving is pumpkin pie.  Well, sweet pumpkin anything is pretty much awesome.  I already cooked pumpkin for Halloween, but yeah, what's this season all about but excess?

Pumpkin Cardamom Cake

This year: Pumpkin Cardamom Cake

(from this recipe)

1/4 cup fake milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp ground cardamom

Put the soy milk into a jug and add the vinegar, leave to curdle.  Put dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a fork.

To the milk and vinegar mix add the oil, pumpkin puree and the vanilla and mix.  Add wet to dry and mix until just combined.

Spoon into muffin tin or cake tin(s) and cook at 350F until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean (25-30 min).


These are goood - lovely warm orange colour, good texture, bold cardamom taste - perhaps a little too much cardamom, but I love the stuff so that's fine by me.


Last year: Pumpkin Pie

(from this recipe)

For the crust:
1/2 cup unbleached flour
7 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp veg oil
3 tbsp soy milk + 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 to 4 tbsp water 

For the filling:
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup fake milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar cane syrup (just used sugar / maple syrup instead)
1/4 cup cornflour (used regular flour instead - didn't expect it to work but it did!)
1/2 tbsp dark molasses or to taste (didn't have so used maple syrup instead)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

To make puree:
Heat oven to 400F, cut pumpkin or squash in half and place, cut side down, on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 min until collapsing when poked.  Scoop out the innards and mash them up.  Can freeze if more than needed.  Can use tinned if preferred.


To make crust:
In a mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt, sugar and baking powder.  In small bowl, mix oil and soy milk mixture.
Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and mix with a fork until it holds together in a ball.  If it is too dry, add some water, a little at a time, until dough is moist enough to roll.  (If time allows, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.)
Roll out dough onto clingfilm with a lightly floured rolling pin, forming an 11-inch circle.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough.  Flute or crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 425F.

To make filling:
In large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared crust and smooth top.  Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes.  Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight.


I made this twice last year - it wasn't long after I'd gone vegan and this was my first successful vegan baking effort.  Despite not having some of the ingredients and thinking a vegan pumpkin pie wouldn't work, it came out amazingly - all the tastes were there.  I did almost manage to poison a friend with a nut allergy with hidden almond milk in the filling (she was fine, thank goodness).

Baked Apple

One large red apple (the last of my Rome Beauty from our apple picking trip), core removed without cutting any other part of the apple, stuffed with a mixture of vine fruits (raisins/currant/golden raisins), sweet spices (cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg/allspice), chopped toasted pecan pieces and brown sugar, base wrapped in foil and dumped in a baking tin, cooked at 350F for ~ 20-30min.

mochi

I've tried to make mochi a couple of times before: with Anna we heated the mixture in the oven and it came out a good consistency but glued into a baking tin - sprinkled with sesame seeds it tasted good, but...  another time I followed a youtube tutorial and steamed them, but they came out kinda hard and not soft and sticky...  The easiest way seems to be with a microwave and we don't have one.

I met this recipe on the internet the other day, and found that it had wonderfully detailed instructions, so thought I might give them another go at some point.  Then discovered some red bean paste still in the freezer and a packet of glutinous rice flour in the pantry, S was at football and I was making lebkuchen and thought 'why not now?'.


(makes 10)
100g glutinous rice flour
50 grams sugar
100 ml water
plenty of potato starch or corn starch for dusting / making a bed

10 tsp sweetened red bean paste
toasted sesame seeds

Mix the rice flour, sugar and water in a heatproof bowl that fits inside the steamer.  Place the bowl in the steamer and cover the bowl with a heatproof plate.  Close the steamer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time, until the mixture is thick and slightly translucent.

While the rice flour mixture is cooking, pour a generous layer of potato/corn starch in a good-sized, rimmed container, and keep more starch on hand.  When the rice flour mixture is ready, pour it onto the starch; it will be super sticky.  Pat the dough to flatten it slightly and cut into 10 even pieces.

Take one piece of dough, stretch it out and flatten it gently, and place it on the palm of your hand.  Put ~1tsp red bean paste in the middle (and a sprinkling of sesame seeds as an alternative), and wrap, and pinch the dough around it, trying to be neat and not make any holes or let the bean escape.  If there is any stickiness left on the outside squish into some toasted sesame seeds.  Place on a starch-dusted plate and repeat with the other nine - try and work quickly as the dough is harder to work with when cool.

Let rest for an hour to set and cool to room temperature before serving.  Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature, but they don't keep longer than about a day.


These are way better than previous attempts - the trick is to cook the dough well first, and then to use plenty of starch to stop everything getting too stuck together.  In future I'd like to try sesame or dessicated coconut on the outside instead of using so much starch, and to experiment with different fillings (such as the fresh strawberries in the original recipe).  And to try putting coconut milk or powder in the batter, and/or green tea powder in the batter too - green tea mochi are my favourite.  Could try with cocoa powder also.

Lebkuchen, again

I'm trying to hold off on the Christmas baking this year, since we won't be here at Christmas etc etc.  But I bought some lebkuchen the other day, remembered my not very successful attempt at them last year, and thought I might have another go...

I used this recipe this time.

(makes 24 - I halved quantities to make 12 small ones)

285g plain flour
85g ground almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
A pinch each of ground cloves, grated nutmeg and black pepper
200ml honey / agave
85g marg
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp candied peel

Melted chocolate and icing sugar to finish.

Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Weigh the honey and marg into a small pan and heat gently until the marg melts.  Add honey mixture, lemon zest and candied peel to the flour mixture.  Mix until combined and fairly stiff.  Leave to cool.

Heat oven to 180C/350F.  Make dough into 12 small, flattened discs.  Space evenly on baking trays lined with paper.  Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, finish with melted chocolate and leave to cool.  Dust with icing sugar before serving, if you like.


They aren't really like the Lidl ones, but quite nice nonetheless.  S is watching football with the boys - I don't think dainty, sweet biscuits are the most appropriate post / during football snack, but well, what choice do they have?

White-coloured food (cauliflower curry + rice)

We're quite into cauliflower at the moment (among other brassicas).  After Seb's triumphant cauliflower with breadcrumbs we bought another one.  Last night I got around to cooking it.  Had another bash at a cauliflower curry - the one I tried before wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I did some Googling and adaptation and ended up with this:

Dry cauliflower curry

1 cauliflower, broken into florets
salt

1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp cumin seed
(grind the three above ingredients together)

2 tsp veg oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, finely chopped
1 small mild green chili, finely chopped
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tomato, chopped
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp coriander, chopped

Put the cauliflower in a bowl and cover with salted, boiling water.  Leave for ~ 5min.  Drain, then add the ground cumin / fennel / coconut and mix.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium frying pan and add the onion, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chili, cinnamon stick and cloves.  Cook gently until the onion is translucent.  Add the tomato and cook until it is collapsing.  Add the cauliflower, chili powder and salt to taste and cook until the cauliflower is as soft as you like (~30 min) - cover if necessary.

Finally, add the coriander, mix up and serve with basmati rice.


This didn't come out quite how I expected (I think I have this vision of slightly crispy, browned and well-cooked cauliflower that is dry and tasty), but it was very good.  The ingredients reduce to give a fairly dry, sweetish, brown mixture surrounding succulent bits of cauliflower - not far off - way better than my last cauliflower curry effort.  Liked the subtle coconut and sweetness.

Orange-coloured food (giant couscous with apricots + rose harissa)

Turns out I am in the mood for orange-coloured food: lunch today is this apricot couscous, plus pumpkin salad, plus a raw carrot (have run out of fruit).  Perhaps I will turn orange.
This recipe is basically Nigel Slater's from here.  Was very keen to use some of the rose harissa I bought the other day.  With apricots sounded good - used dried not fresh - quite fancied the dried fruit : couscous combination.


150g giant couscous
300ml hot water / veg stock
olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
10-15 dried apricots, roughly chopped
2 tsp rose harissa
1/2 a lemon, juice and zest
~3 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt

Bring water to the boil in a saucepan, then add the couscous and boil for ~10 min.  Drain and refresh, then put in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onions, garlic and cardamom  pods until the onions are soft and pale.  Add the lemon zest and the apricots and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the apricot mixture to the couscous.  Mix the lemon juice in a bowl with the harissa, then add to the couscous.  Finally, add the parsley, mix well and taste for seasoning.


Mmhmm.  That worked.  Not spectacular but pleasant and interesting and subtle.  Not blown away by  my fancy rose harissa - can't really taste the rose.  Perhaps I overpowered it, will have to try again.

Buns for Orwell (and Amy)

Amy and I were discussing our mutual love of George Orwell the other day.  We'd independently both just been reading 'The Road To Wigan Pier'.  His writing is so vital, and still so relevant almost a century later.  Those images of coal miners and that discussion of class will stick with me.  I first fell for Orwell through 'Down and Out in Paris and London' - one of my favourites.  The friendly homeless man who used to sit on the footbridge in Norwich was reading it at some point.  That man was nice, I hope he's moved on to better things.  As well as Orwell's political writings, I've long loved his opinions on food, particularly British food.  The tidbit about Wetherspoons being designed to meet his guidelines for a good boozer; his stickling plan for a nice cup of tea (for the most part I accept his opinions, and revel in its glorious microcosm of Britishness, although I can't agree on the milk - good tea needs no milk).  I just recently (through this article) came across his 'defence of English cooking', which may well be a new favourite - it's making me homesick just skimming it.

In honour of all of these coincidences, and because I had some currants in the cupboard I'd bought ages ago thinking I would need them suddenly one day, here are some saffron buns (recipe from the Guardian article).

Saffron buns

Pinch saffron threads
1 tsp yeast
90g sugar
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch salt
½ tsp nutmeg
120g marg
100g currants
100g sultanas / raisins
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
100ml 'milk'

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl with 4 tablespoons of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes, before adding the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Mix together the flour, salt and nutmeg with a fork in a mixing bowl, then rub in the marg . Add the currants, sultanas / raisins and remaining sugar. Beat the milk and egg together, then add to the flour and fruit, together with the saffron mixture.

Knead the dough until good and springy (on and off for 10-15min), adding a little more flour or milk to get a good consistency.  Divide into 12 and shape into buns.  Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size (about an hour in a warm place).  Bake at 220C / 425F for 15 minutes, until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.


I'd not made saffron buns before.  They're somewhere in between a scone and a hot cross bun (more like the latter, and much better than my attempts at scones).  The spicing was subtle but they are lovely - slightly sweet, with sticky dried fruit bursting out and a pretty yellowish colour.  S liked them lots.  Good with some carrot jam - another (literary) coincidence.

Mung bean and carrot salad

Mung beans are something that usually sits in the cupboard and I only use for sprouting.  I felt this was me being somewhat unimaginative - this recipe suggested a good use.

140g (~1 cup) dried green mung beans
60ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds  (didn't have, so used 1 1/2 tsp of cumin plus 1 1/2 tsp fennel)
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp white wine vinegar (didn't have - used cider vinegar instead)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm batons
½ tsp sugar
20g coriander, chopped
Grated zest of 1 lemon

140g feta, broken into chunks

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the beans and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until they are cooked but still retain a bite. Drain, shake well and transfer to a large bowl.

About three minutes before the beans are done, heat two tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan and add the seeds and chopped garlic. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until the seeds start to pop – about three minutes – then pour, hot oil and all, over the beans, along with the vinegar, chilli and half a teaspoon of salt.

While the beans are cooking, lay the carrots in a pan large enough for them to form a shallow layer on the bottom.  Pour over about 150ml water – the carrots should be nearly submerged – plus two tablespoons of oil and half a teaspoon each of sugar and salt.  Bring to a boil and keep on a high heat for eight minutes, by which time the water should have evaporated and the carrots become slightly caramelised but still crunchy. Drain some liquid, if needed.  Add the carrots to the bean bowl, along with the coriander and lemon zest, (and feta if using) and stir gently.

Bonfire Night = parkin

It's nearly Bonfire Night.  Growing up in little villages it was always one of the big community events of the year - farmers stacking unwanted burnables in the field next to the primary school; the pile growing and growing as Nov 5th approached; learning firework safety and to check bonfires for hedgehogs; the local firemen setting off the firework display...  Excitement was probably heightened by the occasional near-bad-accidents - the burning tyre that rolled out of the bonfire once, the time Dad's leg took a mis-aimed firework so our faces didn't have to...

In my memories, food is tangled up with the sparklers and the hats+gloves and the cold feet and the thrilling fire - bonfire toffee, toffee apples, baked potatoes, parkin - all warm / gingery / treacly...

My Mum's family come from Yorkshire.  So parkin (a dense, treacly gingerbread made with oatmeal, originating from Yorkshire, and traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night) is something I feel pretty close to (once a year).  I made it once as a teenager, it came out a lot like a brick.  But still tasted decent.  Last year I went to a Boston Brits bonfire night party, this year I think it's time to introduce Americans to the good stuff (no fireworks though, they're illegal in MA - lame).

Key features of parkin, I decided, are inclusion of oatmeal (meaning the rounded, lumpy type of oatmeal, not just rolled oats), golden syrup and treacle, and ginger as the sole spice.  I went with Delia as a basic recipe, adapted to what I had available / my taste.  Then realised it needed time to mature, so I made it last night before heading out to SBTRKT - it has a couple of days to get ready (not 2 weeks, but better than nothing).


Parkin

8 oz (225 g) medium oatmeal (used a fine-ground bulghur wheat I bought by accident a while ago - figured it should be equivalent in texture)
4 oz (110 g) self-raising flour (only had plain, added 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
a pinch of salt
5 oz (150 g) dark syrup or golden syrup (hard to find golden syrup here outside of the 'British and Irish' section of Shaws, so used a mixture of maple syrup and honey instead)
3 oz (75 g) black treacle (used molasses)
4 oz (110 g) margarine
4 oz (110 g) soft brown sugar
2 level teaspoons ground ginger
1 tbsp ground linseed, mixed with 3 tbsp boiling water
1 tablespoon fake milk

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).

Weigh a saucepan on the scales, and weigh the syrup and treacle into it.

Then add the margarine and the sugar to the saucepan and place it over a gentle heat until the margarine has melted down – don't go away and leave it unattended, because for this you don't want it to boil.

Meanwhile, measure the oatmeal, flour and ginger into a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, then gradually stir in the warmed syrup mixture till the mixture is all thoroughly blended.

Next add the linseed mixture, and lastly the fake milk. Now pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 1¾-2 hours.

Then cool the parkin in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out.  The parkin may sink slightly in the middle (mine did).


It's wrapped in clingfilm now, but the bits I scraped off the lining papers were pretty darn wonderful - sticky, gingery, treacly loveliness.  May have overegged the treacle a bit - but I like it!  And yes, once again it looks just like a brick.

Halloween = pumpkin

Roast pumpkin seeds - season first then roast ~8 min

I rode my bike home last night around 7pm, watching kids and parents in fancy dress pounding the pavements - a tiny girl in a Rubix Cube just outside the Booksmith...  I stopped to buy some groceries, mainly I was thinking about pumpkin and squash as I wanted to carve / cook them to mark the day.  They were out of pumpkins, but I bought a butternut squash and an acorn squash (acorns are my favourite so far I think).  Decided not to carve, just to cook.
My plan for the evening was to cook pumpkin and listen to ghost stories on the radio (S was out).  I'd spotted some MR James on the BBC...


Pumpkin and chickpeas

First for something savoury - I'd seen this recipe a few days ago, and liked its autumnal simplicity / imagined the ingredients working very well together.

1 butternut or other squash (used 3/4 of a large butternut squash)
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled but bashed to break the skin
1-2 small red chillies, deseeded, membrane removed, finely chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme (didn't have, so used ~ 1tbsp dried thyme)
4 bay leaves
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
150g dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large bunch parsley, stalks removed, leaves chopped
1 large bunch coriander, stalks removed, leaves chopped
1 small bunch mint, stalks removed, leaves chopped (didn't have, and didn't 100% fancy anyway, so left out)
20g pumpkin seeds, toasted

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.  Peel the squash (if you like), remove the seeds and cut into 4cm chunks.  Put these in a roasting tin with the garlic, chilli, thyme, bay leaves, some salt and pepper.  Add three tablespoons of oil and mix with your hands until well coated.  Roast for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is softened and beginning to char around the edges.  Add the chickpeas, toss and cook for five minutes to warm through.  Add the lemon juice and toss with the herbs, pumpkin seeds and a bit of sea salt. Serve warm, with a little oil trickled over the top if you like.


Pumpkin, chocolate and spices

Pumpkin bread with TJ's pumpkin butter

Had been thinking about a pumpkin loaf, liked the sound of the spices in this one on ppk.

I baked the remaining 1/4 of the butternut squash (left from the recipe above), which was the tail end - I put it cut side down on a baking tray and put it in the oven at 400F (while the other squash was also cooking).  When it was done (collapsed on poking; ~30min) I removed it, left it to cool a few min, drained off any escaped liquid, then scraped the insides out of the skin and mashed them thoroughly with a fork.  This generated about 1/2 a cup of pumpkin puree, so I halved the quantities in the recipe below.

1/4 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or canola oil)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons boiling water, divided
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8 inch loaf pan.

Put applesauce, oil and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Measure out 1/3 cup boiling water and pour into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce.  Add pumpkin, sugar and vanilla and mix well.

Put about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir again.  Now add the rest of the flour mixture and another tablespoon of boiling water and stir just until smooth (take care not to overmix).  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 55 minutes to an hour.  Test with a skewer.  Let cool for 10 minutes, then take out loaf and allow to cool.  Eat slightly warm or cool.


The pumpkin and chickpeas was wonderful - a different, more earthy (less sweet) take on the squash and sweetcorn I also like.  The herbs, chickpeas, squash, lemon, pumpkin seeds and seasoning are just meant to be together...  The loaf is pretty good too - I think I undercooked it slightly (am starting to realise there is a huge difference in temperature between parts of the oven), and the chocolate overpowered the spices and pumpkin a bit, but it is still very munchable.  I am also pounding my way through a small jar of TJ's pumpkin butter -mmmmm.  I considered making pumpkin butter but you can't really preserve pumpkin so I decided it wasn't worth bothering.  Pumpkin fest!