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holidays

Palate- Cleansing Cocktails Ideas Perfect for the Winter Dinners

written by Ali

What could be better during a big winter dinner than a refreshing, palate-cleansing cocktail? The best thing about cocktails is that you can make them from whatever you want, as long as the ingredients go together and they have some fruit and a garnish to finish them off. After all, it would not be a proper cocktail without these things in them.

Pear Mojito

In a highball glass pour 1.5 oz of black rum, .75 oz of lime juice and the same amount of simple syrup. Add 1 oz of pear juice, some fresh mint leaves some ice and top up with club soda.

A couple of slices of fresh pears go really well to finish this off and it is one of the tastiest cocktails around, as well as looking very pretty too.

Cocktails With Campari

Winter cocktails are very easy to make with Campari. You can add rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, and simple syrup together with a pinch of salt to make a Salty Bird. For Parrots Grog, add fresh grapefruit juice, lime juice honey syrup, and club soda to the Campari.

Cocktails With Coconut Water

Coconut water mixes well with any alcoholic drink.

A favorite is to mix it with white rum and some pineapple juice. Add ice and some fresh pineapple to turn this into one of the most refreshing cocktails ever, making it the perfect palate cleanser for a big winter meal.

For a sparkling berry gin cocktail, you need about 7 fresh berries (whatever’s in season is good) 2 sprigs of fresh mint, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 3 oz of soda water, 1 oz of gin, and 3 oz of coconut water. Shake them all well together in a cocktail shaker and then strain the fluid into a glass over fresh ice. Garnish with more fresh strawberries.

Another popular one is very simply a case of putting 1 oz of tequila, 3 oz of coconut water and 3 oz of fresh lemonade into a cocktail shaker full of ice and shaking it vigorously for a minute or two. Pour the drink onto fresh ice in a glass and garnish with a lemon slice.

Coconut water is very versatile as well as having natural health benefits. It is a refreshing drink just on its own but mixed with other liquids, whether they are alcoholic or not, can make some of the best cocktails for the summer months.

Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade

Our final cocktail recipe, for now, is another one that is easy to make, after all, you do not want to have to spend hours mixing these drinks. You will need some bourbon, blackberries and lemon juice. Fill a cocktail shaker about half-way with bourbon, add fresh blackberries and top up with fresh lemon juice. Shake for while and then pour over fresh ice. What could be simpler?

The beauty of cocktails is that they can include whatever you want. Just throw some ingredients together and see what the result is. Some you will love and others you might not like quite so much, but you will certainly have fun trying them.

November 30, 2018 0 comment

Foodie Lists Musings

What Not to Get a Foodie for Christmas

written by Ali

Image Source

Buying Christmas presents is never easy. In fact, it becomes more and more difficult with every year that passes by. However, if you have a foodie in your life, it does become a little bit easier. After all, you already know the way to their heart. Nonetheless, you still need to be careful regarding what you do buy a foodie – you need to make sure it is something they are going to appreciate and enjoy. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what NOT to buy a foodie this Christmas.

Generic chocolate – If you are going to buy chocolate for a foodie, make sure it is something artisan and unusual. Opt for an unusual combination. For example, chilli and chocolate have recently become the latest craze. Can you find something more unusual to top this? Foodies like to try new things, which is why something weird and wonderful is bound to go down much better than a Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

Poor quality kitchen appliances – If you are going to buy your friend or family member something to use in the kitchen, make sure it is something good. Your loved one is more likely to appreciate a set of high-quality knives than a poor quality waffle maker, for instance. Foodies take pride in the meals they prepare – opt for quality at all times. If you like the sound of a new set of knives, check out Cut It Fine’s short list for some suggestions. This is a good gift because knives need to be replaced when they become dull and lose their sharpness.

A generic recipe book – It is likely that your loved one already has a bookcase full of recipe books. This is not to say that you shouldn’t buy them another one – but avoid going for something generic. A standard Jamie Oliver cookbook may appeal to the average person, but a foodie probably feels like they have already seen it before. This is why it is better to go for a specialist cookbook instead. For example, you can choose a cookbook that focuses on meals with a certain ingredient or recipes from an unusual type of cuisine.

The most expensive bottle of wine you can afford – This is an option a lot of people tend to turn to when they are looking for a gift for a wine lover but don’t know what to buy. Surely, the more expensive, the better, right? Well, this is subjective. We all have different taste buds and a lot of so called ‘wine snobs’ actually don’t care about the price – they will take just as much pleasure in a cheap bottle of plonk as an expensive one, so long as it is good. Of course, this doesn’t really help you, so the advice here is to pay attention to what they usually drink and source reviews online.

Hopefully, you now feel a bit more prepared for your Christmas shopping. You know what you should not buy a foodie, which should arm you well when you start browsing for something impressive. Remember, it’s about finding something a bit different from the norm – something they are unlikely to have come across before.

December 6, 2017 0 comment

Foodie Lists Foodie Parties

Food Advent Calendar “Spice It Up!”

written by Ali

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be participating in the Food Advent Calendar “Spice It Up!” in December. An advent calendar counts the days of advent leading up to Christmas. The Food Advent Calendar features a new blog each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24, with each blogger posting a recipe featuring a spice. I’ll be posting a cocktail featuring bay leaves on December 14. I’m so looking forward to seeing what each blogger creates!

December 1: Jenny, initiator and from Jenny Is Baking will feature tonka bean in a sweet bread

December 2: Rachel from Dishing Up Dinner will feature nutmeg in a cookie

December 3: Jyoti from The Hungry Belly will feature saffron in a dessert

December 4: Natalie from Natalie Journeys will feature nutmeg in a drink

December 5: Renea from Inspire A Creation will feature peppermint in a dessert

December 6: Samira from Samira’s Recipe Diary will feature cardamom in a dessert

December 7: Markus from Earth Food and Fire will feature cloves in a side dish

December 8: Candi from Make Ahead Meal Mom will feature nutmeg in a dessert

December 9: Rachael from Coloured Plates will feature star anise in a condiment

December 10: Kori from I Rok the Kitchen will feature ginger in a cookie

December 11: Megan from Life on Paradise Drive will feature pumpkin pie spice in a dessert

December 12: Leslie from Deliciously Plated will feature cardamom in a beverage

December 13: Tanya from Food Forage will feature ginger in a dessert

December 14: Ali from Fix Me a Little Lunch will feature bay leaves in a cocktail

December 15: Daniela from Dani’s Cookings will feature cinnamon in a cake

December 16: Neha from Witty Mushroom will feature cardamom in a dessert

December 17: Lizet from Chipa by the Dozen will feature aniseed in a cookie

December 18: Jillian from Simple Sassy Scrumptious will feature cinnamon and cloves in a cookie

December 19: Jennifer from Jennifer Bakes will feature cayenne pepper in a snack

December 20: Angela from Bake It with Love will feature nutmeg in a dessert

December 21: Kaveri from Pretty Little Things will feature ginger in a dessert

December 22: Nataliya from The Friendly Gourmand will feature clove in a side dish

December 23: Myriam from Milly’s Melting Pot will feature vanilla in a cookie

December 24: Jenny, initiator and from Jenny Is Baking will make a roundup

November 30, 2017 1 comment

Baked Goods Breakfast Holiday Recipes

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

written by Ali

Cranberry sauce muffins are a great way to make use of Thanksgiving leftovers. Honestly, I love these so much, I would make cranberry sauce just to make these muffins.

Another Thanksgiving is over. We used up all sorts of produce this past weekend. We are down to two weeks of the CSA and while I’m looking forward to the break, the last basket really came in handy for Thanksgiving. The basket was full of potatoes, brussel sprouts, shallots, rosemary, carrots, and squash. There was also celeriac, but that’s a veggie for another post. We still had cranberries from Bandon, so all the bases were covered.

The full menu included a roasted turkey breast (for just the two of us, that’s about as much turkey as we can handle), roasted garlic mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, gravy, challah, and cranberry sauce. Oh – and a white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake that I bought for a fundraiser. I felt a little weird not cooking my own dessert, but it was so worth it!

We made use of everything throughout the weekend. The cranberry sauce made it into at least one grilled brie cheese sandwich. With one cup of sauce left, I knew I had to make some cranberry sauce muffins.

On a funnier note – I finally bought a regular 12 muffin cup muffin pan. I’ve been making muffins with one large muffin tin and one small muffin tin. You might not think it would be hard to remember to pick up a muffin pan at the store, but I kept forgetting to put it on the list. Until today – standing in the middle of my living room and going Aha! Such exclamations definitely startle both the husband and the dog.

No matter – I have plenty of muffin tins now. I gave the new pan a test run on my cranberry sauce muffins. They turned out perfectly!

Yum

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cranberry sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients, from flour through nutmeg, in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners. Fill each muffin cup about 1/4 of the way. Divide the cranberry sauce between each muffin cup. Finish filling each cup with the remaining batter.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Makes 12. Enjoy!

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November 27, 2017 0 comment

Foodie Lists Foodie Parties Musings

5 Special Occasions and Foodie Favorites To Go With Them

written by Ali

Being a foodie is definitely something special. Food is such a wonderful thing to enjoy and make the most of. So much so, that it can often be the one passion that bonds you and your spouse, friends, or even family together. And when that’s the case, of course, you’re going to want to celebrate all of your special occasions with food. This is something that can be a lot of fun when you love to cook and try out new recipes, or even travel to try new things and eat out. Because the foodie life will always work best when food is in the middle of things.

But at the same time, when it comes to those special occasions, you definitely want to make sure that you do things differently. You may be a whiz in the kitchen and love to come up with new recipes, but if you do this regularly, it’s not going to be anything special at all. So, what you have to do, is come up with the right fun and foodie ideas to match the special occasion you’re faced with. And don’t worry if that all seems a little bit much for you, because you’ve found the right post. Let’s look at some of the occasions you could have in the year and how to celebrate them in foodie style.

Birthdays

When you’re a big foodie, of course, you want to make sure that you can celebrate your birthday surrounded by your favorite foods. But if you want to try something new, here are a few ideas.

Celebration Cakes

First of all, you’re going to want to pick out your celebration cake. When you’re really into cooking, you may want to do this yourself. And that’s okay when it’s someone else’s birthday, but when it’s you’re own, you should definitely head out and pick something up to make things up. And with so many incredible cupcake stores across the country, with fun and interesting flavors, it can be a great choice too.

First Class Service

As much as you may love to cook, when it’s your birthday or your significant other’s birthday, you may not want to spend the entire day doing it. So, don’t! Instead, why not think about heading to one of the best eater.com restaurants in your area? To celebrate in foodie style, you may even want to travel across the country to finally visit a city or town that you’ve always wanted to eat out in.

Homemade Heaven

Or maybe you want to enjoy your favorite meal from the comfort of your own home? When that’s the case, you should definitely think about staying in and getting cozy. And if he’s prepared to make it (and actually a good cook too), then why not just enjoy your birthday at home? If it’s his birthday and he loves your cooking, then you could definitely do this for him too.

The Holidays

And what are the holidays without a little foodie fun? We all tend to love to eat at this time of year, so let’s take a look at how you can keep things classic, and add a fun twist too.

Create Your Own

At this time of year, nothing quite beats the idea of sipping hot cocoa by the fire at home. But that doesn’t mean that you have to stick to boring old cocoa recipes – not when you’re a foodie at least. Instead, you’re going to want to try out a bunch of different hot chocolate recipes and maybe even create your own. From a hint of mint to a little honeycomb, there’s a lot of fun you can have with flavors to make them more exciting.

Switch Up The Sides

So, you might want your Christmas dinner to be quite classic, because there’s nothing quite like a traditional festive lunch. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with the sides instead. Instead of mashed potatoes, why not go with cheese gratin potatoes instead? And for the veggies, honey-roast carrots could go down a treat too!

Play Nibble Roulette

And when it comes to your food in the evening, why not think about mixing things up a little. So we all like to have nibbles, but sometimes, they can feel quite samey. So why not play a game of roulette with what you serve by both taking a handful of your favorites and making them each so that you have more of an eclectic mix.

Celebrations

Under this category, think of everything from graduating from school to getting a new job. It’s all of those kinds of monumental life moments that are always worth celebrating.

Their Favorite Dinner

When he lands a new job or gets a promotion, you’re definitely going to want to make sure that you make his favorite food for dinner. And who cares that it’s burgers and fries? Because you’re going to make sure that it’s the best burgers and fries he’s ever eaten. Sometimes, opting for someone’s favorite dinner is the best way to celebrate, no matter what it is.

Celebration Sushi

A great cuisine to celebrate with is often sushi. And when you’re a foodie, this is probably one of your favorites too. Because sushi can be such a delicacy. But best of all, it can be a lot of fun to make. And if you’ve never tried it before, it can be something new to add to your skill set too.

Takeout

Or maybe you just don’t want to cook at all. When you’ve aced a big project at work, or you’ve got some great news, you may not feel like cooking at all. And it can be such a luxury to order in. So find yourself the right food delivery app like these on digitaltrends.com and scroll through to find somewhere you love or order from your favorite place to celebrate with ease.

Anniversaries

When it comes to celebrating your anniversaries, wedding or otherwise, you should definitely look to do so surrounded by the right food. But what kind will it be?

Traditional Roast

Celebrating your anniversary can often be a lot of fun. There’s nothing quite like marketing another year of a successful marriage or love by sitting down to a formal dinner. And when it comes to sit down dinners, a traditional roast is always the best. So why not think about serving up a juicy tenderloin or succulent lamb chops with your favorite sides and a hearty dessert to follow too? Because it’s always good to feel well fed while celebrating your anniversary.

European Smorgasbord

Or maybe you like to try out new things year on year? When that’s the case, you’ve probably done all of the classics. From Chinese to Mexican, when you’ve made your way through a bunch of delicious homemade cuisines, why not try out a traditional smorgasbord instead? Sporting delicious cheeses, fish and pickled veggies, it will definitely ensure that you will enjoy some cultural foodie fun.

A Romantic Meal Out

Or maybe there’s a set restaurant that you like to go to each year on your anniversary? If that’s something that you already do, then stick to it. There’s no need to switch that up. If it’s your favorite place or where you had your first date, then definitely keep the tradition alive. But maybe think about mixing up your meal choices when you do eat there, just to keep things interesting.

Valentine’s Day

And finally, there’s also St. Valentine’s Day to enjoy the right menu choices too. Because when you’re both foodies, there’s nothing quite like saying I Love You with your favorite food.

Serve Up Some Love

If you’re cooking up a Valentine’s meal at home, then you need to make sure you do it with a touch of Valentine’s class. And by that, of course, we mean that you should serve up the most traditional ‘love’ foods there are. From oysters and clams from somewhere like citarella.com to spaghetti bolognese ‘Lady and the Tramp’ style, followed by a sweet chocolate tart. You’ll definitely find that you can keep things simple but tasty.

Try Somewhere New

Or maybe you don’t want to have to worry about washing up when Valentine’s comes around. When that’s the case, you’re going to want to think about eating out. But don’t just head to that place on the corner, you’re going to want to try somewhere new. If you’ve been wanting to eat out at a certain place, then save it for Valentine’s and it could quickly become one of your favorites.

Have Dessert First

And because it is Valentine’s Day, on this special occasion, you could definitely think about indulging in every foodie’s dream and having dessert first. Or, you could go one step further and just feast on desserts instead of having anything savory. Because this is the day to fall in love with all things sweet after all. So whip up a whole bunch of sweet and incredible Valentine’s desserts and make your way through them each evening.

November 27, 2017 0 comment

Baked Goods Breads Breakfast Holiday Recipes

Rosemary Garlic Crescent Rolls

written by Ali

This month’s Food ‘n Flix movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, inspired these rosemary garlic crescent rolls. Thanks to Amy from Amy’s Cooking Adventures for hosting this month!

So I have to confess – I’d never seen this movie before this month. Mostly my frame of reference for Steve Martin is his banjo music (don’t judge). Side note – his performance with the Steep Canyon Rangers as the opening act for Emmylou Harris was amazing! I’ve seen a few of his movies here and there through the years. But the combination of Steve Martin and John Candy just wasn’t that appealing to me. Still, Food ‘n Flix movies always provide great inspiration for food, so I thought I’d give it a try.

The movie plot is that an uptight business guy (Steve Martin) gets sucked into the over-the-top world of disaster that is John Candy’s character. Lots of loud humor and lots of catastrophes and then everyone becomes friends at the end. The food references mostly occur in diners. One scene really stood out to me though – Neal (Steve Martin) is desperate to rent a car. Edie McClurg is the obstructive rental car agent. She’s first seen on the phone, talking about Thanksgiving dinner. She mentions ambrosia salad, cranberries, and crescent rolls.

The crescent rolls sparked a full out search on Pinterest for what makes a crescent roll a crescent roll. When I finally figured out that the crescent roll has to do with the shape of the roll, I decided I needed to add home-made crescent rolls to our holiday menu.

My rosemary garlic crescent rolls are buttery, flaky, and full of rosemary and garlic. I froze half the rolls to accompany soups for lunch in December. We’ve nibbled on the remaining rolls – using them as a pre-turkey appetizer, as bread for turkey club sandwiches, and as an easy side for turkey chili. I appreciated the baking inspiration, even if I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie.

Yum

Rosemary Garlic Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

1/3 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
1 1/3 cup warm milk
5 tablespoons softened butter
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 egg white

Instructions

Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit for a few minutes to ensure that the yeast is active and gets bubbly. Add the warm milk, softened butter, and egg and mix. Add the flour, rosemary, garlic and salt and combine so that the butter is well incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 6 - 8 minutes, adding a little bit of flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
Put the dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Set aside in a warm spot for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until the dough is doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle 15 inches across. Cut the dough into sixteen pieces (as you would a pizza or pie). Take each piece and roll into a crescent roll by starting by the wide end and ending at the skinny end, tucking it under. Place each roll on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Leave a little space between each. Cover with a clean dishtowel and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees 20 minutes before the hour is up.
Combine the egg white with a tablespoon of water and beat until frothy. Brush the egg white over each roll. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
Makes 16. Enjoy!

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November 25, 2017 5 comments

Foodie Lists Musings

A Foodie Christmas List

written by Ali

When you’re a foodie, a lover of all things kitchen, or a budding chef (at home) Christmas is a great time for food (obviously) when everything decadent and delicious is allowed to be scoffed by the handful – it’s the best time of year. It’s also a time where you can, hopefully, get some new gear or upgrade. Whether you ask for money to do this, or for the things themselves. Fingers crossed that you get at least one item off your wish list!

Slow Cooker

Nothing says Christmas like a gadget that allows you to bake and cook all things delicious in a slow, melt in the mouth way. You can get a personal one, a small one or even a family sized one – to put together those huge meals with the whole family comes over. You can also get slow cooker specific recipes to try out.

Juicer

Juices and smoothies have become an integral part of a kitchen over the last couple of years – due to the rise in healthy eating. Nutribullet maintains its reputation for the best blender, but the best masticating juicer title belongs elsewhere. It’s up to you where you want to blend or crush your fruit, but every kitchen needs one or the other.

Grow Your Own

Through sites like Not On The Highstreet and Etsy, grow your own gifts have become quite popular. If you love cooking, then why not turn your hand to creating your own ingredients? Pick a plant or two, or maybe you want to try making your own alcohol and make your own Gin or grow your own vineyard. Or go for the cheesy options.

Classes

If you love good food, you can always ask for a cooking class or two. Learn how to make sushi from scratch, how to make realistic flowers out of icing, or even just a beginners class in bread making. A class allows you to have fun, expand your skills, and meet new people. If you don’t want to go alone, then ask for two tickets for one class instead of two classes for one.

Table Bookings

If you love food but don’t love cooking, why not ask for people to make table reservations for you and pay for the meal? This is a great way to try new places and to go out with friends and family – take them with you and share the gift. Obviously, try not to go crazy and spend all their money – they’ll probably shut you down anyway if you try and order ten lobsters cooked in truffle oil and topped with gold leaf and caviar.

November 17, 2017 0 comment

Beverages Holiday Recipes

Mulling Spices Blend

written by Ali

Mulling Spices make a great homemade holiday gift and this Mulling Spices Blend is particularly festive. Mulling spices can be used for both mulling wine as well as apple cider. I’m a fan of mulled wine using a bold wine, like a zinfandel or a grenache. You can also mull white wine.

My special blend has a very fruit-forward flavor, achieved by including dried hibiscus flowers and dried orange rind. I also added in juniper berries, leftover from the last time I made my own pickling spices. Cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon and star anise round out the mix.

Mulling Spices Blend
3 tablespoons juniper berries
2 tablespoons whole cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers
2 tablespoons dried orange peel
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 whole cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
5 whole star anise pods, broken into smaller pieces

Combine all the ingredients and keep in an airtight jar. Use 1 tablespoon per glass of mulled wine or cider.

To mull wine or cider, place the mulling spice blend in a tea infuser. Place the tea infuser in a small saucepan with wine or cider. Bring just to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Remove the tea infuser. Serve in mugs with cinnamon sticks for garnish. Enjoy!

November 17, 2016 0 comment

Farmer's Market Quick and Easy

DIY Pumpkin Puree the Easy Way

written by Ali

My first experience with DIY pumpkin puree was probably inspired by Martha Stewart. As a teenager, I used to watch Martha Stewart’s TV show with my mom when I was on summer break and then again during the winter holiday. I think this may have been when I started getting interested in where my food actually came from. The thought of using pumpkin for something other than carving it into a Jack-O-Lantern was really appealing, but I didn’t have a clue where to find a pie pumpkin. The only pumpkins in the grocery store were the carving kind.

Fast forward to my early twenties: I was still intrigued by all things food related. I had decided to be a vegetarian and wanted to find farm fresh vegetables. I started going to the Cherry Creek Farmer’s Market on a semi-regular basis, where I first found edamame (they come in pods on a stick – this was absolutely marvelous and exotic to me), various varieties of kale and chard, freshly made pasta, and, once fall rolled around, pie pumpkins. I dutifully dusted off my Martha Stewart Cookbook, wrestled the pumpkin open, pulled out the seeds, and roasted it. Note that this was the mid-nineties and my access to cooking related resources was actual cookbooks (I had a huge collection, including one book that had all sorts of pumpkin recipes in it – it was something of a revelation that pumpkin had uses other than Thanksgiving pie).

I kept on roasting pie pumpkins and other winter squash, like butternut squash, by dutifully cutting them open, pulling out the seeds and roasting. I had other encounters with winter squash, including discovering the ubiquitous local pumpkin when I lived in the Marshall Islands. Local pumpkin was really Kabocha squash, which I didn’t realize until I’d moved back to the US and joined a CSA. Local pumpkin, or Kabocha squash makes the most heavenly curry, but I digress.

All of this is to say that one day, in the not too distant past, after I had wrestled a pie pumpkin open to roast, I was browsing Pinterest and came across a recipe that has, frankly, changed my life. Ok – not changed my life so much, but definitely made an emergency room visit from trying to cut a very tough winter squash in half much less likely. Here’s the secret – when you need to roast a pumpkin or another winter squash to make a puree, just bake it like you would a baked potato.

That’s it – just put the squash in whole. I’ve done this for years without incident, but if you are worried about the risk of pumpkin explosion in the oven, you can make a few stabs at the squash like you would a potato. Bake it at 350 degrees until it’s easy to pierce with a knife. Let it cool (it’s steamy and hot, so risky to open it too soon and not get a steam burn). Cut it open, scoop out the seeds, scoop out the flesh and either puree it in a blender or mash it up with your hands or a potato masher.

I usually roast two pie pumpkins a season. I freeze it in quart freezer bags in 1 cup serving sizes. I can generally get around 6 cups of pumpkin from two small pie pumpkins.

If you are looking for a way to use up your pumpkin puree, check back in tomorrow when I will post a Pumpkin Pie Spice Biscotti that will rock your fall. Enjoy!

October 4, 2016 0 comment