S's pumpkin muffins

S made a pumpkin-carving party for his lab last week. He got them all pumpkins, and asked them to bring pumpkin themed food and then they carved pumpkins together. These muffins were his idea, slightly adapted by him from this recipe, and he even bought special silicone baking forms with pumpkin faces for baking them. He used the guts scraped out of two small-medium sized pumpkins and one butternut squash that he planned to carve the following day to make these. He spread all those pumpkin guts out on a baking sheet and baked them until soft and not liquidy, then blended them up to make the 15 oz of pumpkin puree needed.

(makes 12-13)

1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts
2 eggs
15 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat oven to 375F and prepare baking tin with liners (not necessary for silicone form). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl with a fork. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just combined. Dollop into baking cups, and bake for 20-25 min until a skewer comes out clean.

Apple cake

The food insert from a copy of the Guardian from February had been lying around since then, unread. I have no cutoff for how old such things have to be before I will read them. I read it a week or two ago, while drinking tea and surveying the apples on the table, and came across this apple cake recipe, which seemed so serendipitous (and a little different from anything I've made before), that I had to try it.

(makes 1 large cake)

200 g dark muscovado sugar
200 g unsalted butter, soft (or use salted and skip the salt)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
150 g plain yoghurt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
A good grating of nutmeg
4 apples (about 500 g)
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Butter and line a large (900 g) cake tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the muscovado sugar and soft butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and yoghurt and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Grate three unpeeled apples (about 375 g) and fold into the cake mixture.

Scrape into your prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Peel and slice the remaining apple and arrange on top of the cake. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake about 60 min, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.


My wholemeal flour was very coarse - this works well. Also, I was unable to resist throwing in some walnuts and raisins at the last minute before putting it in the oven, which I'd highly recommend - it introduces some interesting texture - otherwise the grated apple disappears into the cake - perhaps some diced apple would also add interest. It's dense and lovely though - cooks well but v moist.

Walnut pesto (and walnut-cauliflower pasta salad)

Our heap of walnuts remains, as yet undwindling. Seb is mocking me for spending all my spare moments cracking nuts with my Granddads favourite nutcracker from 1981. But the proceeds are so nice. Some went into cookies for people waiting to be deported in Jutland at J's bday get together. For a totally different use, I thought of walnut pesto, I think inspired by this. I adapted that recipe only in as much as I substituted stuff we had in the house.

1 cup shelled walnuts
1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup grated parmesan
3 tsp mixed dried thyme, chilli and salt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red pesto (subbed for 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes - used a bit less oil and cheese accordingly)

Toast the walnuts and let cool. Put in a blender with the garlic and pulse until roughly chopped. Transfer to a bowl and mix in grated cheese, herbs and salt, vinegar, oil and pesto. Mix together, taste for seasoning and vinegar, and eat on everything.

Some became an awesome pasta salad, with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes, white beans, parsley and diced mozzarella (or feta) - this is recommended. But it works with everything - a spoonful on top of some pasta e ceci, for example...

Oven-dried apple slices

More ideas to deal with all those windfalls. Our dehydrator did not survive the transatlantic voltage change, despite moving house with us twice before I tested it... I am debating purchasing another one - it might be useful for both walnut and apple harvests - but in the meantime thought it was about time I tested oven drying instead.

apples

Heat the oven to 100C. Core the apples and cut out any bad bits. Peeling is optional - I didn't, and it was fine. If you have apples without bad bits and a corer, circular apple slices would be nice. I had neither of the above, so just made regular slices about 3 mm thick. Dunking in lemon juice solution is also optional - mine were fine without, but it will help stop them from going brown if you are concerned about that.

Lay the slices out on baking paper on oven racks or trays, then put in the oven and dry for 2-3 hours. Check them occasionally, and turn over about halfway through to ensure even drying. Test by checking for any remaining sticky- or squishy- ness. When they are thoroughly dry, remove from the oven and let cool before putting in airtight containers to store (at room temp is fine, they might last longer in the fridge or freezer but reckon they'll keep for a few months at room temp).


These are good - perhaps a bit more crispy and with a slightly more caramelly taste than dehydrator ones.

Spiced apple, raisin and walnut crumble

Our garden is overflowing with apples and walnuts at the moment, and if the windfall apples hang around indoors for too long they attract too many fruitflies. So we have been eating a lot of crumble. With apples in the filling and walnuts in the topping, this is a perfect summary of our autumn garden (slightly adapted from Delia - I have had to admit that when I improvise a crumble it is never quite as good as when I at least approximate a recipe).

Filling:
2 lb apples
1 oz light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
4 oz raisins

Topping:
6 oz self-raising flour, sifted
3 oz chilled butter, cut into small dice
4 oz shelled walnuts
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 oz demerara sugar

Core apples, and peel if you like (also good with peel left on). Cut into thick slices and toss in a bowl with sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice and raisins, then place in a baking dish. Heat oven to 400F / 200C. To make the crumble topping, place flour in a bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs in texture. Finely chop the walnuts and stir them into the flour-butter mixture, together with cinnamon and sugar. Spread on top of the apples, smoothing out and pressing down lightly. Bake for 35-40 min, until the apples are tender and the topping is crisp. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10-15 min before eating - good with some yoghurt.


Note: I have also been enjoying this without the crumble: secretly (cake crisis alert), I often like the fruit part of a crumble the best. So I have been making this just the same - filling a baking dish with apple, raisins, spices and a little sugar, but then skipping the crumble part, covering with foil and baking at the same temperature for the same length of time. It's better than stewing the fruit as it keeps its shape and develops a richer, less watery and more delicious taste - only problem is I eat it so fast! But I guess this is good, considering the windfall mountain.

Apple cheese

Our apple tree is sick and full of wood worm. But surprisingly productive nonetheless. So far we've only had windfalls, attacked by woodlice and fruitflies so they need processing asap, but edible nonetheless. The apples are russetty, quite sour, good cookers.

S suggested making something like membrillo with them. I consulted my IFR 'Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables' book and decided I was pretty sure that 'fruit cheese' is the British equivalent. They said you could make it with apples, but recommended spicing them. We decided against the spicing, but went for it anyway.

The recipe is simple, similar to the membrillo / quince cheese I made before.

apples
sugar

Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks. Put the chunks in a large saucepan, cover with water and boil until the apples are soft. Drain the apples and puree them. Weigh the puree. Add the same weight of sugar to the apple puree in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Simmer for 45-60 min, stirring regularly to prevent sticking, until it is good and thick.

Line a straight-sided baking tin or mould with lightly oiled baking paper. Pour the apple mixture into the mould and put in a warm oven (50C) for approx. 60 min to dry out. Remove from the oven and let cool - it will firm up a bit as it cools. When cool, you can lift it out of the tray and slice.

Excellent with cheese - especially brie or parmesan type cheeses.

Elderberry and apple chutney

This recipe is from a little book called 'Favourite Country Preserves' that Miriam gave me a few years ago, and I'd never actually made anything from until now, although I'd browsed it with curiosity several times - it is full of interesting things, lavender chutney is most intriguing, or parsley honey.

With both apples and elderberries dripping from our garden, I remembered about this recipe and decided to give it a go. It didn't go great - it takes a looong time to remove elderberries from their stalks, and it look an interminably long time for the chutney to thicken (perhaps because I doubled the recipe below?), and it caught and burnt a wee bit. And this was on a Monday night when I just wanted to go to sleep and the whole house stunk of vinegar - I'd not made chutney for a while and forgotten quite how bad the vinegariness can get. Oh well, I think it tastes OK - moment of truth in a month or so.

1 lb elderberries, washed and stalks removed
1 lb cooking apples
4 oz raisins
8 oz onions, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp mixed spice
pinch of pepper
1/2 pint malt vinegar (used apple cider vinegar)
12 oz soft brown sugar

 Peel, core and chop the apples and put in a large pan with the elderberries, raisins and onions. Stir in the salt, spices and pepper and a little of the vinegar. Cook very gently for one hour until the fruit is soft, stirring from time to time to prevent the mixture sticking and burning. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and the remaining vinegar. When the sugar has dissolved, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Boil steadily for about 30-40 min until thick and all the vinegar has absorbed. Spoon into warm, sterilized jars and seal immediately.

Mixed spice

Mixed spice, which I always have to remember not to confuse with allspice, is apparently distinctly British. Therefore, if I want to use it here, I have to mix it up myself.

1 tbsp ground allspice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp mace (or use more nutmeg)
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger

Grind all the spices and mix together.

Raspberry chia kombucha

I long meant to experiment with adding things to my kombucha. I also long meant to open and eat the bag of chia seeds in the drawer. Eventually I made this. It is the simplest ever, and it tastes amazing.

Approx. 250 ml kombucha
about 6 frozen raspberries
1 tbsp chia seeds

Pour the kombucha into a glass bottle with a lid. Crumble the frozen raspberries into the bottle, and pour in the chia seeds. Invert a few times to mix, and make sure the chia seeds are not clumping too much. Leave at room temperature or in the fridge for at least an hour. Keeps fine for at least a day in the fridge.


It's pink and full of gloopy chia seeds and sweet and tangy and lovely. And only takes a few seconds to assemble.

Tzatzkiki

We ate this a lot in the summer, when cucumbers arrived in our veg bag often, and the walk to the grocery shop past the greek restaurant often reminded me to buy skyr or greek yoghurt. That's the only trick - to use thick yoghurt so it doesn't get too runny from cucumber juice.

1/2 cucumber, grated
1/2 clove garlic, crushed to a paste
approx. 1 1/2 cups greek yoghurt or skyr
squeeze of lemon juice (about 1 tsp)
pinch of salt

Coarsely grate the cucumber into a bowl, then squeeze out / drain off some of the liquid. Add garlic, yoghurt/skyr, lemon juice and salt. Mix up and taste for flavour balance and seasoning.


Great with some bread and a greek salad.